


The Seer

by BigSaij



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-01-23 09:03:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 25,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21317617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BigSaij/pseuds/BigSaij
Summary: "I've seen Equestria through its darkest times, ever since Nightmare Moon. I've grown to love this place like a home.""Which is why I'm sorry for what I must do."The bell rung...And all four alicorns fell to their knees.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	1. The Ceremony

As everypony settled down from the disaster that was the coronation, the former rulers of Equestria, Celestia and Luna, motioned for me to come. I stood on the balcony overlooking everypony, along with the celestial alicorns, Twilight Sparkle, and Cadence, who I has asked for as a last minute request. She had been more then happy to oblige.

"And now, the savior of Equestria and watcher from beyond, The Seer!" There was a loud cheer from the crowd below. It had taken a lot of arguing with various nobles about getting me front and center next to the royals, but I had managed.

"Creatures of Equestria! First, it was an honor to see Twilight Sparkle finally become the ruler of Equestria. I've seen her since the very beginning, and you can be sure that I'll keep watching. I know that she'll do a great job."

"I've protected Equestria ever since I got here, ever since Princess Luna's return. Using my seeing abilities, I was able to help the element bearers face the worst evils this land has to offer. I've seen Equestria through its darkest times, ever since Nightmare Moon. I've grown to love this place like a home."

"These four alicorns have seen me through my darkest times, just as I have for them. I consider them my family now."

"Which is why..." I was struggling to keep it together by now. "Why I'm sorry for what I must do."

I pulled the velvet rope hanging from the ceiling. Normally, it blended in with the scenery, looking like just another rope. This one, though, was directly connected to the magical artifact above.

Grogar's Bell rang, its magic in use once more. All four alicorns fell to their knees, drained of all their magic.

Luna was the one closest to me. "What is the meaning of this, Seer?!"

I knelt down, holding her chin up. "Oh, princess. I thought if any alicorn would find out my plans, it would be you. After all, Nightmare Moon was my first target."

"Your first target? What do you mean?!"

I smirked, though my time was quickly running out. Soon the royal guards would be upon me. "Luna, don't you remember Season One? It all started on that fateful day..."


	2. The Beginning

I turned off the television in front of me, wiping away my tears. "That was such a good ending," I said to myself. "An ending the show deserved."

The show in question was My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, one that seemed like it would last forever. And I wish it did. But all stories have to end someday, and today was that day.

I shifted on the couch, reaching over to grab some more popcorn. My fingers only touched the metal bowl, making me grumble. Looks like I would have to make some more.

As I got up, though, the entire room began to shake. I nearly fell back on the couch, my different odds and ends vibrating around. "Earthquake!" I shouted.

But it was no earthquake. The floor started to chip away, leaving only a black void in its wake. It was all around me, leaving no escape. My small platform of floor degraded until finally, I fell through into the cold darkness.

"And just before I could get more popcorn," I grumbled.

\---

_Meanwhile, in Canterlot..._

"Spike, is the circle ready?"

"Yep! I already laid out the salts, candles and runes!" The baby dragon waddled around, making sure everything was perfect. These types of spells had to be spot on, considering how much magic was poured into them. In fact, anything involving magic and a star could be dangerous.

Standing in front of the circle, Twilight's horn started to glow. She had done this spell many time before, so she wasn't very worried. It would be as simple as pie.

Pouring magic into the area, Twilight Sparkle soon found herself giving much more than she thought it needed. Nothing else was different from before, though; Spike had been very meticulous in creating it. The unicorn had given him specific instructions on everything, from the wax on the candles to the size of the runes. Everything, except...

"Spike, you used the special smelling salts for this, right?"

"Uh... does table salt count?"

"SPIKE!" But it was too late. The spell was already self-sufficient, shards of darkness falling from the ceiling. Twilight's eyes widened as the entire tower shook. The hole in reality grew bigger, the fabric tearing...

...And then the thing came through. The hole stitched itself up, reality righting itself. The candles went out, the runes scattered, the salt blown away. The only thing left was the groaning figure in front of them.

He looked up at Twilight, a confused expression on his face. "Twilight Sparkle? Is that you?" His face fell flat on the floor. "Bring me to Princess Celestia when you can, okay?"

As it started snoring, Spike leaned in to the purple unicorn. "Twilight, what is that?"

"I don't know, Spike, but I think we should do what it asks."

\---

"So, what are you?"

I bowed at Princess Celestia, the monarch of the realm. "Princess, I am a human, one who comes from another dimention. Your student, Twilight Sparkle, summoned me here using a faulty spell." My face was impassive, but inside I was desperately trying to hide the giddy excitement. It was actually happening, the land of Equestria was real!

"How did you know Twilight was my student? Who are you?"

I almost completely suppressed a smirk. Almost. "I know because I know. It's my job to know. You may call me... The Seer." I was pretty proud of myself for thinking of that on the spot. I couldn't just tell her that Equestria was a fantasy land; no one would believe me. At least in this world of magic, seeing the future was possible, if not improbable. "I could prove it to you, but I would recommend relieving the guards of their posts. What I say you might not want to leave the room."

Celestia nodded. "Leave us." The royal guards all departed, leaving us alone. "So, what do you see in the future, Seer?"

"I see Nightmare Moon's, and later Princess Luna's return. I see the Crystal Empire to the far north appear, and King Sombra along with it. I see Twilight's ascension into an alicorn. Until one day, you finally hand the throne over to her, and she rules Equestria with the power of Friendship." The spoilers made it totally worth seeing the solar monarch's jaw drop to the floor.

"Is... is that the future for Equestria?" She looked hopeful, as if some long burden was finally relieving itself.

I shrugged. "Perhaps. Anypony's actions could change that. I only see one string of the future; I can not see them all. The best I can do is offer counsel, to aid everypony in reaching their best."

Celestia nodded. "And it starts here. Tomorrow night is the Summer Sun Celebration, which we both know hails Nightmare Moon's return. I plan to send Twilight to Ponyville, to teach her the power of Friendship. I would like you to accompany her there, and to make sure she stays on the right path. We both know what the consequences of failure are, so do not rush her."

I bowed again. "It would be my pleasure, princess."

"You may rest here for tonight. Go back to Twilight's tower; tell her that you are now my advisor, and her other teacher. She will be all too willing to lend you a place to sleep."

"I'm sure she will."

\---

"So, what's the lesson for today?" Twilight, as usual, had gotten up at the crack of dawn. Luckily, I also did the same, so everything worked out. Mostly. My eyes were still a little droopy. I yawned, racking my brains for what came first.

"Well Twilight, lets start with the history of Equestria. I know you've probably read that a million times, but there's a few parts I need you to look over aga-" And she was already flipping through the large tome, basically ignoring what I was saying. I sighed; Twilight would always be Twilight.

"...And harmony had been maintained in Equestria for generations since. Hmm... Elements of Harmony. I know I've heard of those before... but where?"

And thus began nine seasons worth of adventure, excitement and just a bit of work behind the scenes.


	3. Friendship is Magic, Part One

"Spike, can you find a book called 'Predictions and Prophecies' for Twilight? It should have the information we seek." I noticed the wrapped present he was holding. "What's that?"

He held it up. "This? This is just a gift for Moon Dancer."

"Oh, Spike, you know we don't have time for that sort of thing!" I facepalmed, knowing this would cause trouble later on. I forgot exactly how later on, but it definitely would.

"Alright Spike, give that to me. Twilight may not have the time, but I do." I grabbed the present and raced out the door, hoping to get to the west castle courtyard before it was too late. Knowing what it was, the party wasn't that hard to find; it was a courtyard in the castle to the west. I saw Moon Dancer and the others talking.

"I'm really sorry that Twilight can't be here personally. Princess Celestia herself sent her to Ponyville, on a very important mission. She did tell me to give you this, though." I handed the box to her.

She sighed. "Well, at least she remembered. Thanks... Who are you?"

"The Seer, at your service. I provide advice to Princess Celestia. Now if you excuse me, I have to make sure Twilight doesn't blow herself up, or something. Sorry!" I ran off, hoping that this would be enough. It wouldn't sort out all the problems later, but it might make them easier to solve.

As I burst back into the tower library, I found Spike reading a letter, most likely from Celestia. "My dearest, most faithful student Twilight. You know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely." Twilight was looking pretty smug, which made the next line all the more funny. "But you must simply stop reading those dusty old books!"

As the unicorn nearly fell back on her plot, the dragon continued. "There is more to a young pony's life than studying, so I'm sending you to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year's location: Ponyville. And, I have an even more essential task for you to complete: make some friends!"

I clapped my hands. "Then let's go! Ponyville awaits!"

\---

"Man, Celestia goes all out with her carriages, doesn't she?" Twilight didn't answer; she was still pouting.

"Look on the bright side, Twilight. The princess arranged for you to stay in a library. Doesn't that make you happy?'

"Yes. Yes, it does. You know why?" The unicorn went nose to nose with Spike. "Because I'm right! I'll check on the preparations as fast as I can, then get to the library to find some proof of Nightmare Moon's return."

"Then... when will you make friends, like the princess said?"

"She said to check on preparations. I am her student, and I'll do my royal duty, but the fate of Equestria does not rest on me making friends." I snorted. "What's so funny?"

"Oh Twilight," I said, shaking my head. "If only you knew what you just said. You'll figure it out when you're older, trust me."

The transport landed near the center of Ponyville, and we all hopped off. "Thank you, sirs," Twilight said to the royal pegasi flying it. They flew off back towards Canterlot.

I saw a bouncing pink pony heading our way, so it was pretty easy to know who it was. "Twilight, look! Just try to make a friend, alright? Let's start with Pinkie."

"Um, hello?" The earth pony gave a extra long gasp, then zoomed off. "Well, that was interesting." Spike sighed, but I could only smile.

"Spike, checklist me." The dragon threw me a scroll, which showed all the things we had to do today. I already knew everything on it, but it never hurts to double check. "Summer Sun Celebration's official overseer checklist. Number one, banquet preparations at Sweet Apple Acres."

We walked for a bit while I took in the scenery. Ponyville was definitely the charming little place the show made it out to be, with it's old style houses and friendly ponies. The skies were blue, the trees were green... it was basically a more vibrant version of Earth. Equestria really would be an excellent vacation spot, if I ever figured out a two way portal there and back.

The Apple farm wasn't very far from town, and soon we were walking from the gate. I heard a "Yeehaw!" in familiar country twang, and knew instantly who that was. The orange earth pony ran up to the nearest apple tree and kicked it with her two hind legs. Every single apple on said tree fell neatly into the waiting baskets below.

Twilight only sighed. "Let's get this over with... Good afternoon. My name is Twilight Sparkle-"

"Well, howdy-doo, Miss Twilight, a pleasure makin' your acquaintance." She started rapidly shaking Twilight's hoof. "I'm Applejack. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do like making friends! So what can I do you for?"

Twilight was still rapidly shaking her hoof even after Applejack had stopped. I had to grab hold of it to finally stop her.

"Well, I am in fact here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration," the unicorn said in a no-nonsense tone. "And you're in charge of the food?"

"We sure as sugar are! Would you care to sample some?"

Twilight thought for a moment. "As long as it doesn't take too long..."

She was cut off by Applejack ringing a triangle hanging nearby. "Soup's on, everypony!" A stampede of farm ponies took us all to a covered table. "Now, why don't I introduce y'all to the Apple family?"

"Thanks, but we really need to hurry-"

Twilight was interrupted by various Apple family members stacking food on the table. Applejack listed off their names as they approached.

"This here's Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apples, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp..." She finally took a breath, "Big MacIntosh, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith." The last one was a old green mare on a rocking chair. "Up'n'attem, Granny Smith, we got guests."

Granny Smith woke, slowing getting off her chair. "Wha...? Soup's on? I'm up, here I come, ahm comin'..."

"And I thought my family tree was big," I whispered to Spike.

"No kidding."

"Why, I'd say you're already part of the family!"

At that point Twilight was completely fed up. "Okay, well, I can see the food situation is handled, so we'll be on our way."

"Aren't you gonna stay for brunch?" Apple Bloom gave Twilight the biggest pleading eyes in the history of Equestria. It would have melted the coldest of hearts, and given pause to Tirek himself. Even Twilight was having a hard time resisting.

"Sorry, but we have an awful lot to do..." Everypony around gave a big sigh, as if their hearts were broken. Twilight, realizing that this was a lost cause, finally broke. "...fine."

The Apple family gave a big cheer, and I dug into the nearest plate of apple fritters.

\---

"Food's all taken care of, so next would be the weather." I rolled back up the checklist and looked up at the skies for a familiar rainbow color.

"Ugh... I ate too much pie..." Twilight lugged behind, looking absolutely miserable. I had kept track of how much I ate, so I was just full, not bursting at the seams.

"Now, there's supposed to be a pegasus named Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds."

Looking up, the unicorn was not pleased to find the sky still cloudy. "Well, she's not doing a very good job, is she?"

A rainbow flash zoomed by me, smashing into Twilight behind me. Unfortunately, they both landed in a large mud puddle, which splatted all over them. Rainbow Dash had arrived, in her usual way; crashing into something, or somepony.

The pegasus gave a nervous laugh. "Uh, excuse me? Lemme help you." She flew off, only to return a few seconds later with a cloud. Jumping on top of it, water poured down on Twilight, drenching her even more. The unicorn was now clean, but soaking wet. She did not look any happier.

"Oops, I guess I overdid it. Um, uh, how about this?" She started flying faster and faster around Twilight, turning into a rainbow colored tornado. "My very own patented Rain-Blow Dry!" She set down near me, still boasting. "No no, don't thank me. You're quite welcome." Then she took one look at Twilight frizzy purple mane and tail and couldn't hold it anymore. She burst out laughing for real this time, falling on the ground. Spike soon followed suit.

"Let me guess. You're Rainbow Dash."

"The one and only." She went nose to nose with her. "Why, you heard of me?'

"I heard you were supposed to keep the weather clear!" Twilight took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and the princess sent me to check on the weather."

"Yeah, yeah, that'll be a snap." While I was looking away, Dash had made a sort of couch from the cloud. "I'll do it in a jiffy. Just as soon as I'm done practicing."

"Practicing for what?"

"The Wonderbolts!" The rainbow pegasus pointed to a nearby poster, showing the elite flyers. "They're gonna perform at the Celebration tomorrow, and I'm gonna show 'em my stuff!"

"The Wonderbolts?"

"Yep!"

"The most talented flyers in all of Equestria?"

"That's them!"

"Pfft! Please. They'd never accept a pegasus who can't even keep the sky clear for one measly day." Given her future role in Equestria, Twilight Sparkle sure could play ponies like a fiddle.

"Hey, I could clear this sky in ten seconds flat."

"Prove it."

Rainbow Dash zipped around, punching and kicking the clouds around her. They all disappeared into thin air as soon as her hooves made contact. Faster then somepony could say "Twenty percent cooler", the entire sky was blue and spotless. She was even able to pull off some aerobatic moves on the job.

"What'd I say? Ten. Seconds. Flat. I'd never leave Ponyville hanging." Dash set down on a nearby bridge, watching Twilight's astonished face. She gave a laugh. "You should see the look on your face. Ha! You're a laugh, Twilight Sparkle. I can't wait to hang out some more." She waved at us, then flew off somewhere else. Even I didn't know where Dash went, but I did know it was somewhere awesome.

"Wow, she's amazing!" Spike turned back to Twilight, prodding her still-fuzzy mane. The unicorn huffed and started walking towards the city hall, which was just a few meters away. Spike and I ran after her. "Wait, it's kinda pretty once you get used to it!"

\---

"Next, decorations." I looked up at the adornments showing ponies, the sun and the moon. They were all very official looking, and well crafted too.

"Beautiful..." I had to agree with Spike, the room was beautiful.

"Yes, the décor is coming along nicely. This ought'a be quick. I'll be at the library in no time. Beautiful indeed."

"Not the décor, her!" Oh right, Spike's love interest was Rarity. I had almost forgotten.

The unicorn was looking at different colored ribbons with magic. "No, no, no, oh! Goodness no." She had the accent of the upper crust, like she was a noblewoman from Canterlot.

"How are my spines?" Spike asked me. "Are they straight?"

"Your spines are fine, Spike," I assured him.

"Good afternoon," Twilight began. Rarity gave her no heed.

"Just a moment, please! I'm 'in the zone', as it were." She finally seemed to find a ribbon with her approval, tying it on a nearby pole. With magic, of course. "Oh, yes! Sparkle always does the trick, does it not? Why, Rarity, you are a talent. Now, um, how may I help yo-" She took one look at Twilight's mane and gave a cry of distress. "Oh my stars, darling! Whatever happened to your coiffure?"

"Oh, you mean my mane? Well, it's a long story. I'm just here to check on the decorations, and then I'll be out of your hair."

"Out of my hair? What about your hair?" Rarity started forcefully pushing Twilight out of the city building, leaving a very confused Spike and I behind.

"Wait, where are we going? Help!"

\---

I stood outside Carousel Boutique, waiting patently for Twilight to come running out. As magical as the entirety of Equestria was, watching other ponies try on clothes would never be not boring.

The standing time was even shorter than I thought it would be. Twilight came running out of the building, Spike riding on her back. I had to run to keep up until she finally slowed to a trot.

Spike was still staring blissfully back at the fashion store. "Wasn't she wonderful?"

"Focus, Casanova. What's next on the list?"

I waited for the dragon to pull it out, but Spike just stared at me instead. It took me a bit to realize why. "Oh, right." I unrolled the checklist. "Music is the last one."

On que, we all heard a chorus of birds singing through the bushes. When we investigated, I saw a pink-maned yellow pegasus directing a group of birds on a nearby tree. Hearing one bird off beat, she intervened.

"Oh, my. Um, stop please, everyone, umm." She flew close to the offending bird. "Excuse me, sir? I mean no offense, but your rhythm is just a teeny-tiny bit off." The bird nodded, and the pegasus returned to her conductor spot. "Now, follow me, please. A-one, a-two, a-one two three-"

"Hello!" Despite my visible warnings, Twilight still spoke way too loud. All the birds flew off, and the pegasus gave a yelp of surprise. "Oh my, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to frighten your birds. I'm just here to check up on the music and it's sounding beautiful."

There was a moment of awkward silence. I chose at that moment to step in. "Fluttershy, this is Twilight Sparkle. Twilight, this is Fluttershy."

Fluttershy just gave a squeak and made herself as small as possible. I leaned into Twilight. "As you can see, she puts the 'Shy' in Fluttershy."

"Well, um..." Luckily, the birds saved us from more awkwardness by returning to their singing tree. "It looks like your birds are back, so I guess everything's in order. Keep up the good work!"

We turned and walked back to Spike, who had stayed behind probably dreaming of Rarity. "Well, that was easy," I said.

I heard a gasp behind me. "A baby dragon!" My mind thought, _Oh god._

The fates were with me today, though, because Fluttershy slammed into Twilight instead of me, sending the unicorn flying into a bush. "Oh, I've never seen a baby dragon before. He's sooo cute!"

Spike looked smugly at Twilight. "Well, well, well!"

"Oh my, he talks. I didn't know dragons could talk. That's just so incredibly wonderful I, I just don't even know what to say!"

Just as Spike was soaking up the attention, he was levitated over Fluttershy and onto Twilight. "Well, in that case we'd better be going."

"Wait, wait!" Fluttershy and I ran to catch up. "What's his name?"

"I'm Spike," said Spike.

"Hi Spike, I'm Fluttershy. Wow, a talking dragon! And what do dragons talk about?"

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"Absolutely everything." Twilight gave a groan, as if the trip back was going to take twice as long with the story. I, though, thought it would be quite entertaining.

"Well, I started out as a cute little purple and green egg..."

\---

"...And that's the story of my whole entire life! Well, up until today. Do you wanna hear about today?"

"Oh, yes, please."

Spike opened his mouth to continue, but was cut short by Twilight's sudden stop. It appeared that we had finally made it to the Golden Oak Library.

"I am so sorry, how did we get here so fast? This is where I'm staying while in Ponyville and my poor baby dragon needs his sleep."

"No I don't-" Twilight all but bucked him off, making Spike fly into the dirt.

"Aw, wook at dat, he's so sweepy he can't even keep his widdle bawance!" Even I felt bad for Spike right now; no one would want to be spoken to in that condescending tone.

Fluttershy, though, didn't seem to notice. "Poor thing, you simply must get into bed..."

Twilight grabbed Spike and backed into the library. "Yes,yes we'll get right on that."

I followed the unicorn inside before she could shut the door. "I'm sorry, Fluttershy, but Twilight has a lot of things to do and she's a bit cranky right now. See you at the Celebration!" I gently closed the door, sending the inside of the tree into darkness.

"Huh. Rude much?"

"Sorry, Spike, but I have to convince the princess that Nightmare Moon is coming, and we're running out of time! I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time! Now, where's the light?"

As if those words were the signal, the lights flashed on. All the ponies in the library were revealed, who filled the entire room. The entire population of Ponyville must have come in.

**"SURPRISE!" **Kazoos sounded, balloons flew, and confetti fell. I gave a smile, but Twilight was not amused. She gave a audible groan.

The pink earth pony from earlier came bouncing up to us. "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised? Were ya? Were ya? Huh huh huh?" Her face was so close to Twilight that their noses were almost touching.

"Very surprised. Libraries are supposed to be quiet."

"Well, that's silly! What kind of welcome party would this be if it were quiet? I mean, duh, bo-ring!" Twilight walked through the crowd towards the drinks, with all of us following close behind. "Y'see, I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all 'hello' and I was all-" Pinkie imitated her gasp of shock from earlier today "-remember? Y'see I've never seen you before and if I've never seen you before that means you're new, 'cause I know everypony, and I mean _everypony_ in Ponyville!"

As Pinkie Pie finally stopped to take a breath, Twilight began pouring herself a drink from one of the bottles.

"And if you're new, that meant you haven't met anypony yet, and if you haven't met anypony yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends then you must be lonely, and that made me so sad, then I had an idea, and that's why I went-" another deep gasp sounded out. "I must throw a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everypony in Ponyville! See?" Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy appeared behind me. "And now you have lots and lots of friends!"

Twilight almost choked on her drink, turning around with a red face. We all looked at her warily. "Are you alright, sugarcube?

The unicorn jumped up, her mane turning to fire and steam pouring out her ears. She ran up to the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. I picked up and read the bottle. "Hot sauce. Huh."

Pinkie reached over and put some on a nearby cupcake. She then picked it up and ate it, much to the astonishment of nearby ponies. "What?" she asked. "It's good!"

Shaking my head in disbelief, I quietly followed Twilight up the stairs. When I entered the bedroom, I saw the purple unicorn laying on her bed, groaning. Sitting down next to her, I reopened "Predictions and Prophecies" and turned to the page about the Mare in the Moon.

"You know, Twilight, I believe you."

She looked up at me. "What?"

"About Nightmare Moon. My seer abilities tell me that it's true. They also tell me, though, that there is no way to stop her return."

"So that's it then? Equestria is doomed to eternal night?"

"Whoa, hold on." I put my hands up. "I never said that. There is a way to defeat her, but it will be difficult. I can't tell you what it is now, though. Things will make more sense tomorrow."

The door opened, letting the music from downstairs ring throughout the room. Spike walked in, wearing a papier-mâché lampshade hat. "Hey Twilight! Pinkie Pie's starting 'Pin the Tail on the Pony'! Wanna play?"

"No!" Twilight yelled. "All the ponies in this town are crazy! Do you know what time it is?"

"It's the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration. Everypony has to stay up, or they'll miss the princess raise the sun! You should really lighten up, Twilight. It's a party!" Twilight mumbled something as Spike closed the door behind him.

"Ugh, here I thought I'd have time to learn about the Elements of Harmony but, silly me, all this ridiculous friend-making had kept me from it!" Twilight's magic wrenched the book from my hands, still stuck on the page I was reading. "_Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about everlasting night." _She sighed, looking at me. "I know that you said it's real, but I can't help but hope the princess was right... I hope it really is just a old pony tale."

The door opened again, and the baby dragon came in again. "C'mon, Twilight, it's time to watch the sunrise!"

\---

We walked into city hall, all decorated for today's celebrations. Ponies filled the entire room, with pegasi flying above and some ponies even standing on the balconies above. Spike, Twilight and I found ourselves grouped in with the other five ponies we had met earlier today.

"Isn't this exciting?" Pinkie asked us. "Are you excited, 'cause I'm excited, I've never been so excited- well, except for the time that I saw you walking into town and I went-" gasp from Pinkie "-but I mean really, who can top that?"

She quieted down as the mayor of Ponyville started speaking. "Fillies and gentlecolts, as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!" Everypony gave a cheer. "In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year!

When I looked up, I was not shocked or surprised to see four stars home in on the moon. The shadowy Mare in the Moon vanished, foretelling the danger fast approaching. Twilight was the only other pony to notice; nopony gasped, and the mayor continued uninterrupted.

"And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria..."

Everypony leaned in, excitement visible on their faces. The tension in the air was almost palpable, and I was imagining a drum roll sounding off. "...Princess Celestia!"

Rarity tugged on the string, pulling back the curtains... only to reveal nopony. "Huh?"

"This can't be good," Twilight muttered.

"Remain calm, everypony, there must be a reasonable explanation!" There was, but Mayor Mare wasn't going to like it.

"Ooh, ooh, I love guessing games!" No matter the situation, Pinkie Pie would always be Pinkie Pie. "Is she hiding?"

Rarity, who had been checking the stage above to ensure that this wasn't just a prank came out with a dramatic look on her face. "She's gone!"

Slowly, one by one, ponies began to notice the dark cloud settling over a balcony. It was filled with tiny white pinpricks, like stars in the night sky. Then the cloud parted, revealing a tall dark alicorn with lunar adornments and slitted eyes. Her mane flowed like Celestia's, though this alicorn's was dark and starry. "Oh no, Nightmare Moon!" I heard Twilight say, though not loud enough for anyone to notice. Spike fainted off her back.

"Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious little son-loving faces." She looked out over the wave of ponies, all trembling in fear at the sight of her.

"What did you do with our princess?!" Rainbow Dash attempted to fly up, only to be pulled back by Applejack biting on her tail.

Nightmare Moon gave a small but sinister laugh. "Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?"

"I do." The crowd parted before me, all pony eyes staring. I felt a bit of sweat forming from all the attention, but I couldn't back down now. I took the mayor's place on the stage, both physically and as a role. "Fillies and gentlecolts, I present to you one of the rightful diarchs of Equestria! Ruler of the moon, and alicorn of the night! She is..."

"Nightmare Moon!"


	4. Friendship is Magic, Part Two

The entire crowd of ponies gasped. Nightmare Moon made another evil laugh, summoned a storm of thunder and lightning, then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Rainbow Dash, who had been held back by Applejack the entire time, finally broke free and chased the cloud outside.

I was more focused on Twilight, though, who after recovering from shock galloped out the door with Spike. I followed close behind, knowing that she was returning to the library. I could hear Rainbow Dash up above; "Where are they going?"

As soon as we got inside, I saw the unicorn float Spike straight to bed. He mumbled a bit, but was too tired to complain.

Getting a bit annoyed at Twilight's rummaging through the library, I chose to remind her of a few things. "Twilight, you do realize that I know more about the Elements of Harmony then all of these books combined, right?"

"And just what are the Elements of Harmony?" Dash went right into my face, forcing me to back up. "And how did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh? Are you a spy?"

"Rainbow Dash, if I was a spy, the Elements of Harmony would be long gone by now."

Applejack made her way in with the rest of the gang. "But you do know what's going on, don't you?"

"Yes, I do." I was tempted to ask for all of them to sit down, like a storyteller usually does, but I decided against it. All the ponies in the room were already vastly more powerful than I was, and even just getting on their nerves was not something I wanted.

"There are six Elements of Harmony. Five are Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, Laughter and Kindness, and the sixth will only be revealed once the spark that binds them together is present. The known ones, however, are currently in the Castle of the Two Sisters. The castle is located in what is now..."

"The Everfree Forest!" the ponies chorused as we stood outside said forest. The inside was dark and spooky, like the amazon at night. In fact, I'd say the show doesn't do the pre-Tree of Harmony Everfree Forest justice.

Pinkie was not deterred. "Whee! Let's go!"

"Not so fast," Twilight said, trying to put a damper on things. "Look, I appreciate the offer, but I'd really rather do this on my own."

"No can do, sugarcube. We sure ain't lettin' any friend of ours go into the creepy place alone. We're sticking to you like caramel on a candy apple." Applejack had a lot of country and apple mannerisms.

"Besides," I added, "I can guarantee that none of us alone will reach the castle. Only as a group will we be able to succeed." Technically, that wasn't completely true. One pony, or should I say, one person here doesn't have to go, but there's no way in Tartarus that I'm missing out on this.

As we began our journey into the dark forest, I could feel everypony's fear level rising by the minute. I tried to calm things down with some small talk. "So, any of you ever been here before?"

"Ugh, heavens no! Just look at it; it's dreadful!" Though Rarity's fashion sense made her think that a black on white dress was dreadful, here she did have a point.

"And it ain't natural," Applejack added. "Folks say it don't work the same as Equestria."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that the ecosystems behaves naturally here," I explained to Twilight. "There's no need for ponies to run this place, and any attempts to fail. Wait."

Everypony stopped as I realized where we were. Right on a cliff path, where the first test was. I held up three fingers. "Nightmare Moon sabotage in three, two, one..."

The entire platform of rock we were standing on fell away, sending everypony but Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy down into the canyon below. Knowing what was about to happen, I was just able to jump onto a safe area. "GO!" I yelled. "SAVE THEM!"

Rainbow Dash flew down and caught Pinkie, while Fluttershy got Rarity. Twilight would have fallen off completely if Applejack hadn't caught her balance on the steep slope and grabbed her hooves. The two ponies were now having some sort of intense argument.

After a minute or two, Twilight let go of Applejack... only to fall into the waiting hooves of Fluttershy and Dash. The farm pony then made her way down using a series of stepping stones. The problem now was that I was still up here, and everypony else was down there.

"RAINBOW DASH FLUTTERSHY CATCH ME!" I jumped off, definitely not screaming like a little filly. Thank the Maker that Dash was actually reliable when someone was in danger. She caught me about half way down, setting me next to Twilight.

"Were you crazy?!"

"What? I knew that Rainbow Dash could catch me. She's the fastest flyer in Equestria." I wasn't telling my opinions to Twilight, I was stating facts. I turned to Applejack. "I saw your little talk with Twilight. Looks like all it took was Honesty, huh?"

She just nodded, giving the indication that she knew the words coming out of my mouth, but not what they meant. Ponies could be so dense sometimes.

\---

"And once Pinkie and Rarity were saved, woosh... Me and Fluttershy loop-de-loop around and WHAM! Caught you right in the nick of time."

"Yes, Rainbow, I was there, and I'm very grateful, but we gotta-" She was interrupted by a loud thump in front of us. She gasped. "A manticore!"

The lion with a scorpion tail and dragon wings roared, voicing his displeasure at our presence. "We've gotta get past him!"

I knew that nothing less then a scream would draw the ponies' attention, so I did just that. "EVERYPONY, LISTEN TO ME!" They all turned, even the manticore. "Let's let Fluttershy try."

"Fluttershy?!" Everypony looked confused, even more so when the pegasus actually stepped up and nodded. When she got up to the manticore, it roared and prepared to swipe at her. Everypony cringed in fear.

Fluttershy, though, would not dissuaded. She rubbed against the beast's free paw. "Shhh... it's ok..." The lion, even more discombobulated then before showed Fluttershy the paw, revealing a large thorn stuck in it. "Oh, you poor, poor little baby."

"Little?" Rainbow asked. I shushed her.

"Now this might hurt for just a second." The pegasus pulled out the barb, making the manticore grab her and roar right at Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy!" they all yelled. Such babies. Any sane pony could see the creature clearly licking Fluttershy. It purred, and she gave a light laugh.

"Aw, you're just a little ol' baby kitty, aren't you? Yes you are, yes you are!" I could not see that working with anypony but Fluttershy. She could make that condescending tone so sweet that you wouldn't even realize she was using it. We all slipped past the manticore, it paying us no heed.

Eventually it laid off, and Fluttershy rejoined us. "How did you know about the thorn?" Twilight asked.

"I didn't. Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness."

"Took the words right out of my mouth, Fluttershy," I said.

\---

"My eyes need a rest from all this icky muck," Rarity complained. The forest obliged her, tree obscuring the light of the moon. We were now in complete darkness. "Well, I didn't mean that literally."

The Mane Six started mumbling and bumping into each other. "Oh wait, I think I stepped in somethin'," I heard Applejack say clearly. Fluttershy screamed at her, making the earth pony confused. "What? It's just mud."

The glowing tree behind her growled, revealing its terrifying face. Applejack herself gave a yelp and rejoined the group proper, who were all terrified at the faces around them. Well, all except Pinkie, who was laughing her plot off. We all stared at her making funny faces at the trees.

"Pinkie, what are you doing?" Twilight asked incredulously. "Run!"

"Oh girls, don't you see?" Out of nowhere, music started playing. I had forgotten that a musical number was in this episode.

I grabbed Pinkie just before she started singing. "Wait!" I rummaged through my pant pockets, pulling out what I was looking for. It was old, it was dusty, and I usually hated it.

It was a tape recorder. I pressed the record button. "Alright, go ahead!" And that's how I got the Laughter Song on tape.

\---

"So, what does that thing do, Seer?" Twilight asked me as we continued our journey. I shrugged and pulled it out again. Pressing the play button, all the ponies heard an exact replica of the song Pinkie had sung a few minutes ago.

"I'm sure you have some sort of rewind spell for sound. It's like that, except the sound is stored permanently in these tapes." They all oohed and aahed at my ancient technology. I had to remind myself that while this was a piece of junk in my world, Equestria was still in the medieval era. Anything that even had a trace of electricity would be like magic.

Unfortunately, our good cheer wouldn't last. The path ahead was obstructed by a large swirling river, which looked impossible to swim. "How are we gonna cross this?" Pinkie asked. She was startled by a distant wailing. "Huh?"

A giant purple sea serpent with a golden mane was sobbing nearby. "What a world, what a world."

"Excuse me, sir. Why are you crying?"

The serpent lowered his head to Twilight's level. "Well, I don't know. I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this tacky little cloud of purple smoke just whisked past me and tore half of my beloved mustache clean off, and now I look simply horrid!" He let himself fall back into the river, creating a wave that drenched us all.

"Oh, give us a break," Rainbow said.

"That's what all the fuss is about?" Applejack agreed.

"Why, of course it is! How can you be so insensitive?!" Rarity clopped over to the snake, who had laid his head down on the riverbank. "Oh, just look at him. Such lovely luminescent scales."

He sniffed. "I know."

"And your expertly coiffed mane!"

"Oh, I know, I know." The sea serpent was eating up the compliments.

"Your fabulous manicure."

"It's so true!"

"All ruined without your beautiful mustache."

That broke him once again; he started sobbing uncontrollably. "It's true, I'm hideous!"

Rarity put on a rare face of steadfast determination. "I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected." She approached the snake, then bit off one of its scales. It recoiled in pain.

"What did you do that for?"

"Rarity, what are you-" Twilight was cut short when the fellow unicorn raised the blade up, then slashed it down, removing her own tail. Levitating it over to the serpent, she plugged it in to where the mustache half was.

"Oh-hohohoho! My mustache. How wonderful." He didn't seem to care that one side was now purple, while the other was orange.

"You look smashing."

"Oh, Rarity, your beautiful tail..." Twilight lamented.

"Oh, it's fine, my dear. Short tails are in this season." She gave a look that indicated anything but. "Besides, it'll grow back."

"So would the mustache," Rainbow whispered to me.

It didn't really matter though; either way the river was now safe enough to cross. Twilight started to walk across. "We can cross now! Let's go!" There was a rumbling beneath her. "Ah!"

The sea serpent rose, elevating her above the water like a bridge. ""Allow me." We all hopped across him, waving goodbye as we reached the other side.

\---

"There it is, the ruin that holds the Elements of Harmony! We made it!" The crumbling castle was right across the bridge, on the other side of the massive canyon. Twilight galloped right towards it, unaware of what was right in front of her.

"Twilight, wait up!"

She paid Applejack no heed. "We're almost there." Or at least, Twilight would have been if she hadn't noticed that the ancient bridge had fallen into the gorge below. The unicorn stumbled, the only thing holding her from falling being her hind legs.

I quickly grabbed her tail and pulled her back up. "What's with you and falling today?"

This obstacle finally seemed to be too much for Pinkie Pie. She hopped over to the edge and sighed. "Now what?"

Rainbow motioned at her wings. "Duh."

"Oh yeah."

The pegasus flew down below the clouds, then returned with the other end of the bridge in her mouth. She flew off towards the other side, slowly being obscured by the fog bank rolling in. As soon as the shadow figure was undiscernible, I turned to the rest of the ponies.

"So, there's something I've been meaning to ask. You've probably noticed that I'm not a pony."

"Well, duh, silly!" I brushed off Pinkie's half insult.

"Well, when I walked into Ponyville I was remarkably well-received. Weren't you surprised at my appearance?"

Everypony but Twilight looked at each other. "To be honest, we thought you were some sort of diplomat," Applejack said. "And besides, we get some pretty strange things here in Ponyville."

I nodded. "True. Here's the lowdown. I was summoned by Twilight from another dimension, I can see the future, and I work for Princess Celestia."

Their jaws all dropped at "see the future". "Ooh, ooh, what's my future? Is there cake?"

I laughed. "Yes Pinkie, there's cake. I can't tell too much, though, or else it might not be the future anymore. I'll help out when I can, but please bear with me if I do some strange things. Just assume it's future seeing."

Twilight, who had only been paying half attention saw Rainbow Dash again over the gorge. "Rainbow, what's taking so long?" She saw the dark uniformed pegasi on the other side. "Oh no. Rainbow! Don't listen to them!" The fog rolled back in, and we were once again blinded from the scene. "Oh, I hope she fixes the bridge..."

"Don't worry. I'm sure Dash will come through." Just as I knew, a few seconds later the bridge tightened. The mist flew away, and Rainbow Dash flew over to us. We all gave a cheer of appreciation.

"That was very loyal of you, Rainbow Dash," I complimented as we crossed the gap. I also expected her ego to get in the way of what I meant, which it did.

"Yeah, I know. I'd never leave my friends hangin'."

Rolling my eyes, I walked to the heavy wooden double doors of the castle and pushed them open. The interior wasn't any prettier then the exterior, though there was an excellent orb holder in the center of the hall. Each pedestal held a different stone ball, with there being five in total.

"The Elements of Harmony!" Twilight exclaimed. "We've found them!" I motioned for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to fly the orbs down to us. "Careful, careful!"

Pinkie Pie pointed at them as they came down. "One, two, three, four... There's only five!"

"When the five Elements are present, the spark will cause the sixth to appear," I recited.

"What in the hay is that supposed to mean?" Applejack asked me.

I shrugged. "I could tell you, but then I guarantee that the spark would never come. You'll have to find out on your own."

Twilight's face lit up. "I have an idea! Stand back. I'm not sure what will happen."

"Come on now, y'all. She needs to concentrate." Everyone followed Applejack back outside except for me. I stayed and watched Twilight kneel down, closing her eyes and focusing her magic.

A dark and starry cloud, one all too familiar, crept out of the darkness of the windows and snaked its way to the Elements. Spinning faster and faster around them, it created a tornado, kind of like the "Rain-Blow Dry" from earlier today. When Twilight opened her eyes again, she cried out in terror. "The Elements!"

She jumped straight into the heart of the twister, with me right on her hooves. There was a flash, and then a cloud of smoke. Both of us started coughing, and I stumbled over to a nearby pillar, leaning on it for support.

When the air cleared up, I saw Nightmare Moon on a stage on the other side of the room, with the five Elements hovering around her. Lightning flashed around her, and she gave a triumphant evil laugh.

Twilight was not one to be frightened, though. She stomped the ground with a hoof, snorting like an angry horse would do.

"You're kidding." The dark alicorn looked surprised for once, but it was the evil sort of surprised. Almost a sort of exasperated look.

Magic gathering around her horn, the purple unicorn charged. Nightmare Moon froze for a second, then galloped towards her as well. They came closer and closer, until right when they were about to collide...

There was a flash of magic, and Twilight was gone. Nightmare Moon turned, seeing that she was now on the dais with the Elements of Harmony, trying to summon more magic. "Just one spark. Come on, come on!"

Nightmare Moon's shock broke quickly, and she turned back into a twister heading right for Twilight. But right as she materialized in front of her, magical feedback blew the unicorn back towards me.

The magic she had pumped into the Elements remained, though, sending sparks throughout the orbs. "No, no!" Nightmare Moon cried.

...And then it stopped. The balls sat there, acting like nothing had happened. Both Nightmare Moon and Twilight seemed surprised by this. "But... where's the sixth Element?!"

Nightmare Moon laughed, the laugh of someone who just found out that their one weakness didn't exist anymore. She stomped her front hooves, and the Elements all shattered into tiny pieces. "You little foal! Thinking you could defeat me? Now you will never see your princess, or your sun! The night will last forever!" I had never seen Twilight so defeated, so broken. Her one hope, now laying in pieces in front of her.

Voices came from the downward stairwell behind her. It was the rest of the Mane Six. At the moment, just like in the cartoon, I saw a sort of spark go off in her eyes. Realization struck her dawning eyes, and she turned to face Nightmare Moon once again.

"You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony just like that? Well, you're wrong, because the spirits of the Elements of Harmony are right here!" She gestured at her friends, all standing beside her. I whipped around to look back at Nightmare Moon, who had just a hint of fear in her eyes. The shards of the Elements floated skyward. "What?!"

Twilight began to continue, but I shushed her. "Mind if I monologue from here?" There was no response, so I took that as a yes. "Applejack, the Element of Honesty! Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness! Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter! Rarity, the Element of Generosity! And Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty!" As I named the ponies off, their respective shards flew to circle around them.

"You still don't have the sixth Element!" Nightmare Moon said desperately. "The spark didn't work!"

"But it did. Twilight found the spark when she realized what bound the other Elements together. The spark... of Friendship!" On cue, the sixth stone orb appeared over Twilight's head. "You see, Nightmare Moon, when the Elements are connected by the spark of Friendship, it creates the sixth Element, the Element of... Magic!"

The shards floating around the other Element Bearers gathered around their necks, creating varying necklaces, the Element forms we know so well. The sphere above Twilight flashed, and a large crown inset with Twilight's cutie mark settled on her head. Light blinded me, and a double helix rainbow flew from the Mane Six, targeting Nightmare Moon. "Nooo!" she screamed, just like every other villain in existence.

The spiral did not strike the alicorn, though. Instead, it hit the ground beneath her hooves, creating a tornado almost exactly like Rainbow Dash's. It grew until Nightmare Moon was no longer visible. Then the white filled my entire vision, and I shut my eyes.

Once the ringing mostly faded from my ears, I slowly reopened them. The Element Bearers were sprawled across the floor, groaning.

"Ugh, my head," Rainbow said, trying to stand.

"Everypony okay?" Applejack asked.

"Oh, thank goodness." I looked over at Rarity, who was admiring her newly regrown tail.

"Why Rarity, it's so lovely," Fluttershy complimented.

"I know! I'll never part with it again."

"No, your necklace. It looks just like your cutie mark." Rarity looked at her purple diamond accessory, then at her triple diamond cutie mark.

"Ooh. So does yours!" Fluttershy saw her own pink butterfly symbol.

"Look at mine! Look at mine!" Pinkie Pie said with her blue balloon to Applejack and her orange apple.

"Aw yeah." Rainbow Dash was really liking her new red lightning bolt. Twilight's big crown was a little much, but it would look better soon enough.

"Gee, Twilight! I thought you were just spoutin' a lot of hooey, but I reckon we really do represent the elements of friendship."

A warm, yellow glow appeared from outside a cracked window. "Indeed you do." The sun rose outside, and with it, the start of a new day. A ball of magic flew down from the heavens, taking the form of the solar monarch.

"Everypony bowed except for me and Twilight. I took a knee instead, while the Element of Magic clopped over to the alicorn. "Princess Celestia!"

"Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student." She bent down and nuzzled the unicorn. "I knew you could do it."

"But... you told me it was all an old pony tale."

Celestia gave a small smile. "I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return, and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart."

I coughed loudly. "I knew all of those things too, you know."

She looked at me with her knowing eyes. "Yes, you did. Thank you for taking care of Twilight. I see my faith in you wasn't misplaced."

"I aim to serve."

Her eyes became unfocused. "Now if only another would accept friendship as well." Both of us turned to the pedestal, where a small grey alicorn laid among the shattered remains of Nightmare Moon's armor. "Princess Luna!" I saw the filly's eyes widen with fear.

"It had been a thousand years since I have seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us." Princess Celestia knelt down, sad eyes locked on the fellow princess. "We were meant to rule together, little sister."

"Sister?!" I heard all the other ponies exclaim. I turned and shushed them; no need to interrupt this heartwarming moment.

"Will you accept my friendship?"

I watched the Mane Six lean forward in anticipation out of the corner of my eye. Pinkie Pie leaned too far and fell forward. "Whoa!"

After a few tense moments, Luna lunged forward and buried herself in Celestia. "I'm so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!"

"I've missed you too."

Pinkie Pie sniffed, then let out the waterworks. I had to admit, the scene almost brought a tear to my eye as well. Of course, as soon as Pinkie Pie realized what she could do the tears ceased. "Hey, you know what this calls for?"

\---

I looked out over Ponyville as Pinkie's party raged in full force. Celestia and Luna had, of course, invited me to the festivities, but I had humbly declined. There was still one piece of unfinished business at the Castle of the Two Sisters.

"Is this really what I want to do?" I asked myself. "Should I really take the chance of ruining this perfect world just for myself?"

I pulled out a small bag. The solar diarch had considered it an odd request, but summoned it without questioning. "That kind of trust can be dangerous, Celestia. But I suppose that here, almost no one would break it."

Walking over to the items in question, this was my final chance to back out. I suppose the wisdom of my elders convinced me what to do in the end. They always said, "It's better to have the option open and choose not to, then to have no choice at all." My mind was set. I opened the cloth bag.

And stuffed the remains of Nightmare Moon inside.


	5. Internal Affairs

"So, how is Princess Luna's recovery going?" I inquired.

"She gets better every day, though I do not know how long it will take for her to fully recover."

I rubbed my chin, trying to remember how things went. "I can't exactly give you an exact date, but I can see her fully rejuvenated by next year's Nightmare Night."

Celestia gave a sigh of relief. "Well, that's better then nothing."

I had come almost straight to Canterlot after my little stay at the Castle of the Two Sisters. Though I would mostly be staying with Twilight at the Golden Oaks Library, she might question what was in the large, brown sack I currently had slung over my shoulder. Celestia, however, knew better then to ask.

"So, I have a request to make. I will be staying with Twilight Sparkle most of the time-"

"Which I had already given permission for."

"-and will now be taking a more active role in her affairs. I didn't dare do too much with the Elements and Luna at stake, but perhaps I can avoid a 'Lesson Zero'." She gave me a quizzical look. "Don't ask. What I really need, though, is a place here at Canterlot as well. Maybe with a secret passage to a hidden lab?" I hoped that the princess saw the twinkle in my eyes.

"I suppose that that can be arranged. Star Swirl's old quarters will be the perfect fit for you, as soon as we move all the artifacts and grimoires to other secure locations." She tapped her chin with a hoof. "But where to put the Crystal Mirror?"

"Ahem. With all due respect, princess, I would like to keep the mirror." I continued to raised eyebrows. "After all, we wouldn't want Sunset Shimmer to do anything rash, would we?"

"So you know about my failure as well," Celestia said, her face showing sad memories returning. "I let her see the mirror, hoping that Sunset would learn that the magic of friendship was necessary for her studies. She was talented, she was ambitious-"

"She was out of your control," I interrupted. "She demanded that you make her an alicorn, and you refused. You were forced to release her as a student, so she jumped in the mirror. I promise, when she returns. Sunset will be safe in my care."

Celestia sighed. "You most likely know more about the mirror then even I... Very well. The mirror will stay under your protection. In that case, the secret lab is already ready for you."

"Then I guess I better check it out." I started towards the exit, then realized my folly. "Um, how do I find the entrance?"

"Well, I hear 'Predictions and Prophecies' is an excellent reading book. Perhaps you should try it." I nodded, then opened the door. A guard pony rushed in past me. The last thing I heard before I closed it behind me was, "Your Highness, we were unable to locate Nightmare Moon's remains."

I'll admit, it took a bit of help to find my new room. It was one of the tallest towers, allowing me to see what seemed like all of Equestria from the windows. When I pulled the book Celestia suggested from the shelf. the entire section of wall swung on well-oiled hinges towards me. A stone staircase led downwards. When I reached the bottom, I found a ancient room filled with books, notes, and the Crystal Mirror dominating the room. There were also plenty of magic pedestals, each with a containment field for artifacts particularly dark and powerful.

Artifacts like the one in my bag right now. I dumped Nightmare Moon's shattered armor into the force field, which hovered safely. As long as no one from the outside interfered, it would stay there for eternity. My short work complete, I let myself wander over to the mirror.

"Oh, Sunset Shimmer," I whispered. "I'll save you from that nightmare of a world. Mark my words, you will not fall for those terrible imitations of me." Letting my fingers slide from the reflective surface, I forced myself back up the stairs to my study. Returning to the window, and to the view of the sunset, where the dusk spread across the horizon. When my eyes finally started to droop, I climbed into the starry bed and quickly fell into the land of dreams.

And thus began another day.

\---

"Hello, Luna," I said, quietly opened the door to her room and closing it behind me. "How are you doing today?"

The princess was laying upside down on her bed, still much smaller and lighter coated then normal. "It's terrible, Seer!" she moaned. "Celie says that I'm 'not ready for public appearances' yet, and I'm _so bored!_ There's nothing to do here!"

"That's just awful." I could sympathize with her on this; being bored was the worst. Seeing as how I could still go out and about, though, I did have something that alleviated my boredom from time to time. In fact, it was still in my pocket right now...

"Would you like to try this?" Luna turned and looked at the game console in my hand. "I call it a Gameboy. You can play a ton of games on it, though I personally don't have that many." Reaching into my other pocket, I pulled out the various cartridges. "Some of my favorites are Pokemon and Zelda, though I'll let you decide on what you want to do."

Setting it down in front of her, the princess prodded it with a hoof. "It looks fun, but how do I use it?"

After showing her how to insert cartridges, turn it on, and what all the buttons did, Luna jumped straight into the Gameboy. Less then five minutes later she was giggling with maniacal glee. It was colorless, it was tiny, and it wasted the hours like nothing else. The only time she looked up from the screen was when Celestia came in to check on her. "Lulu, what is so funny?"

"Celie!" She pointed at me, who was watching the screen from behind her. "This one's my favorite! Can we keep him?"

"If Luna turns into a screenager, I refuse to take any blame for it." I looked back at Luna. "And remember, you're a princess. If you wanted, you could just send me a summons. Try not to do so when I'm solving a friendship problem, though."

I got off the bed and bowed to both royals. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I will be taking my carriage to Ponyville now. Thank you for your hospitality." Once outside the room, my quartet of guards escorted me to the transport, where the pegasi already attached flew me to the village below.

\---

**"SURPRISE!" **All throughout the town square, party decorations and the like were hung up, with the pièce de résistance being the banner reading "Welcome to Equestria!"

Pinkie Pie was bouncing all around me, with the rest of the Mane Six nearby by. "Do you like it? Huh? Huh? I was going to give you a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party like I did with Twilight when I realized that it was your first time too, but then Twilight told me that you came from a different dimension, so it was your first time coming to _Equestria! _So I knew I had to make this party extra special! So, what do you think?"

"It's great, Pinkie. But, uh." I looked at each pony in order. "Didn't you already guess that I wasn't from around here? I mean, I look pretty different, don't I?"

"Ponyville's really close to Canterlot, so it usually gets to see a lot of foreign dignitaries," Twilight explained. "Everypony probably thought you were coming in from a far off kingdom, which is why the reactions were mostly muted."

"Makes sense," I muttered to myself. "I mean, I'm not the only thing walking on two legs here, either. Discord is another bipedal..."

"Uh, hello?" I focused to see a teal hoof waving in front of me. "You there?"

"Yes, Rainbow, I'm here. Sorry, I was just thinking." I smirked at Twilight. "Get used to it, because Twilight will do that a lot too."

"I do not!" Both me and Spike looked at here. "...Ok, maybe a little."

The ponies escorted me over to the cake, which was in fact chocolate. I cut myself a slice and put it on a plate. "So, where are your Elements?" I asked, my mouth full.

"Princess Celestia took them for safekeeping after the Celebration was over. They're probably in Canterlot." Oh yes, they would be very safe, at least until one Lord of Chaos broke free. It would be a while until that happened, though, so I let it fade from my mind.

"Speakin' of which, why did you want to stay with Twilight, Seer? Wouldn't your seein' abilities be used better with the princess then they would with us?"

"Two reasons, Applejack. One, that's actually not true. I can do much more good here with you all then I can in Canterlot, though I will be visiting the royal palace frequently. Two, I want to know you all better. To see the hidden side of all of you."

"But... I thought you said that you knew all about us already."

"Yes, Fluttershy, I know everything about you from the outside. I don't know things I can only learn from hanging out with you. That's why in the future, I'm going to spend a few days with each of you. Help around with work, socialize a bit, you know. That kind of thing." I twirled around my fork for emphasis. "By the way. Applejack, do you need any help on the farm anytime soon?"

"Well, uh, yes. I was gonna ask Twilight for a bit of help tomorrow, but I guess you already knew that."

I took another bite of cake. "Good. I'll be coming along, then. Twilight, do you mind coming over for a second? You too, Spike." The dragon and pony looked curiously as the other ponies departed.

"What's going on, Seer?" Spike asked.

"Don't tell anypony about this, but you're going to get a letter tomorrow from Princess Celestia. It's going to contain two invitations. Just telling you so you two know ahead of time."

"That's great, but what's the invitation about? What could be so important?"

I looked at Twilight with a grave, somber expression. "An event I'm dreading. Even more so then next year's Nightmare Night."

"The Grand Galloping Gala."


	6. The Ticket Master

"Oh god," I said, putting down my basket of Golden Delicious apples as Spike burped out a letter from Canterlot. Quickly grabbing it before anypony else could, I unfurled the message. "It's from Princess Celestia," I sighed. "Ahem."

"_Hear ye, hear ye. Her grand royal highness, Princess Celestia of Equestria, is pleased to announce the Grand Galloping Gala to be held in the magnificent city of Canterlot, on the 21st day of April, blah blah blah, and she cordially extends an invitation to Twilight Sparkle plus one guest."_

Applejack and Twilight both gasped. "The Grand Galloping Gala!" they said to each other. Neither pony noticed the looks of utter despair I was giving.

Spike, however, was on a similar page. He gave a half-disappointed half-annoyed glare before another package came via dragonfire. "Look, two tickets!" he said pointing to the Willy Wonka-like golden tickets floating down.

"Wow, great! I've never been to the gala! Have you, Spike?"

He stuck out his tongue. "No, and I plan to keep it that way. I don't want any of that girly frilly frou-frou nonsense."

"Aw, come on, Spike. A dance would be nice." Twilight turned to me. "What about you, Seer?"

"Absolutely not. The nobility and upper crust of Canterlot is already insufferable to me. Spending an entire night with them whispering about my 'schemes' to influence Celestia would end in disaster. I'm sure somepony else would think the dance nice, though."

Applejack looked at me as if I had lost my mind. "Nice?! It's a heap good more then just nice! I'd love to go! Land sakes, if I had an apple stand set up, ponies would be chowin' our tasty vittles 'til the cows came home. Do you have any idea how much business I could drum up for Sweet Apple Acres? Why, with all that money, we could do a heap of fixin' up 'round here." The farm pony's eyes turned glazed and dreamy. "We could replace that saggy old roof, and Big MacIntosh could replace that saggy old plow, and Granny Smith could replace that saggy old hip."

"Two things. First, are doctors really that expensive?" They both looked at me. "Right, of course. Sorry. Two, I don't think the gala will be what you think it will be, Applejack."

"Whoa!" A teal blur shot down from above, crashing down on Twilight and Applejack, making them lose all their apples. "Are we talking about the Grand Galloping Gala?"

"No, we're talking about the Average Galloping Gala." I swear I heard Spike give a snicker before his face went straight again. "Duh, Rainbow."

The earth pony brushed herself off. "Rainbow Dash. You told me you were too busy to help me harvest apples. What were you busy doing? Spyin'?"

Rainbow looked a bit offended. "No, I was busy napping." I looked above at the tree to see a makeshift pillow and blanket set up on a large branch. I gave a nod of approval. "So, I just happened to hear you had an extra ticket?"

"Yeah, but-"

"YES!" She gave a hoof-pump. "This is so awesome! The Wonderbolts perform at the Grand Galloping Gala every year. I can see it now..." The pegasus gave an exact replica of Applejack's expression earlier. "Everypony would be watching the sky. Their eyes riveted on the Wonderbolts, but then in would fly Rainbow Dash! I would draw in their attention with my Super Speed Strut. Then, I would mesmerize 'em with my Fantastic Filly Flash. And for my grand finale, the Buccaneer Blaze! The ponies would go wild! The Wonderbolts would insist that my signature moves be incorporated into their routine, and then welcome me as their newest member."

She snapped out of her daze. "Don't you see, Twilight? This could be my one chance to show 'em my stuff. You gotta take me!"

Applejack bit on Dash's tail and pulled her back. "Hold on just one pony pickin' minute here." She spit out Rainbow's rainbow tail. "I asked for that ticket first!"

"So? That doesn't mean you own it!"

"Girls!" I pushed them apart. "Twilight is the one to decide, not you two! And she and I are very hungry, so we're going to head out for lunch. Once we have full stomachs, then we'll choose. Alright?" The two ponies weren't satisfied, but both nodded. "Good."

"Thanks for dealing with that, Seer," the purple unicorn whispered as we walked out of Sweet Apple Acres. "I just can't choose between the two of them!"

"Well, then your choice is about to become a lot harder."

"What do you mean?"

I shook my head sadly. "You'll see."

\---

"So, who you gonna give the ticket to, Twilight?" Spike asked as he rode on her back. I was a bit jealous; my legs were aching from all the work done today, and Spike himself had barely done anything. I suppose that it was a good thing, though. I was never going to tell Twilight this, but she was quite attractive, for a pony. I would most likely be more nervous riding her then I would having to meet Tirek himself.

Unfortunately, I was so focused on Spike that I didn't have time to react to the pink projectile coming my way. Pinkie Pie slammed into me, I slammed into Twilight, and all of us slammed into the ground. The gala tickets the dragon was hold fluttered onto the earty pony's nose.

"Gah! Bats! Bats on my face!" Pinkie ran around, filled with terror. "Help! Wait, these aren't..." She saw the writing on the golden tickets. "Tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala!"

"It's the most amazing incredible tremendous super-fun wonderful terrifically humongous party in all of Equestria!" Pinkie said to no one in particular. "I've always always _always _wanted to go!"

As she began her small song, I leaned against the wall of Sugarcube Corner and tapped my foot impatiently. I had my recorder on me, but this tune was so minor that I didn't bother to pull it out. It took an entire half-minute for her daydream solo to end.

"Oh thank you, Twilight, it's the most wonderful-est gift ever!" Pinkie got up in Twilight's grill and blinked rapidly. That was Pinkie Pie; fun but confusing, with just a hint of scary occasionally.

"Um, actually..." I focused on Spike, who dusted himself off from his fall and grabbed the invitations. And just who happened to be right behind him but Rarity.

"Are these what I think they are?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The earth pony bounced up and down like a spring. "Twilight's taking me to the Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot!"

"The gala?" Rarity said in surprise. "I design ensembles for the gala every year, but I've never had the opportunity to attend. Oh, the society, the culture, the glamour! It's where I truly belong, and where I'm destined to meet... _him._" She had a twinkle in her eye.

"_Him!" _Pinkie said as I tried to suppress a snort of laughter. "Who?"

_"Him." _Fantasy time once again. "I would stroll through the gala, and everypony would wonder, 'Who is that mysterious mare?'. They would never guess that I was just a simple pony from little old Ponyville. Why, I would cause such a sensation that I would be invited for an audience with Princess Celestia herself-" I sharply exhaled from my nose, but Rarity was too into it to notice "-and the princess would be so taken with the style and elegance that she would introduce me to _him, _her nephew: the most handsome, eligible stallion in Canterlot."

I couldn't take it anymore. Bursting out laughing, Rarity finally broke out of her trance. Everypony glared at me while I rolled on the ground, almost choking. "What is so funny about that?"

"Oh, Rarity," I said, wiping a tear from my eye. "Handsome, yes. Eligible, probably. But you being with Prince Blueblood? Not going to happen. Besides, his title of prince is honorary, not landed, though I suppose honorary titles are what the upper class wish for."

"Hmph." The unicorn looked at me disdainfully, as if I had the audacity to question the stallion of her dreams. Which I suppose I did, but honestly. Who wouldn't if you knew who Blueblood really was.

"Uh, listen girls, I haven't decided who to give the extra ticket to."

"You haven't?!" Pinkie and Rarity both said, one looking disappointed and the other looking overjoyed. I'll let you guess who was who.

"Um, excuse me, Twilight." Standing a few yards away was Fluttershy, with her pet bunny Angel having the two tickets in his mouth. I took a surprised glance at Spike, who seemed a bit annoyed. "I would just like to ask, I mean, if it would be alright, if you haven't given it to somepony else..."

_"You?" _Rarity asked in shock. "You want to go to the gala?"

"Oh, no." Angel thumped on Fluttershy's hoof with his paw. "I mean, yes, or, actually, kind of. You see..." Alright, final dreamy pony. I promise.

"It's not so much the Grand Galloping Gala as it is the wondrous private gated garden that surrounds the dance. The flowers are said to be the most beautiful and fragrant in all of Equestria. For the night of the gala, and that night alone, would they all be in bloom... and that's just the flora! Don't get me started on the fauna. There's loons and toucans and bitterns, oh my! Hummingbirds that can really hum, and buzzards that can really buzz. White-blue jays, and red jays, and green jays, pink jays and pink flamingos!"

"_Muy bien_," I said, making an ok sign with one hand. "I'm sure if you go, you'll fine the animals there _fenomenal_." Upon meeting quizzical looks, I remembered that ponies probably didn't speak Spanish. Guess I'd have to save the foreign language for Discord.

"Wait just a minute!" We all looked up to see Rainbow Dash standing on someone's house like a roof decoration. She flew down to Twilight.

"Rainbow Dash! Were you following me?"

"No. I mean, yes. I mean, maybe!" Even she was confused. "Look, it doesn't matter! I couldn't risk a goody-four-hooves like you giving that ticket away to just anypony."

"Wait just another minute!" Everypony looked to see Applejack, who was not in fact standing on a rooftop, but instead on the ground like a normal pony. Twilight was just as outraged, however.

"Applejack, were you following me too?!"

"No. I was followin' this one-" she pointed at Rainbow "-to make sure she didn't try any funny business. Still trying to take mah ticket."

"Your ticket?" Dash retorted.

"But Twilight's taking me!" Pinkie cut in.

Everypony began homing in on Twilight, arguing with rather loud voices. Even Fluttershy had a slightly angry expression. Too bad that nopony saw me and Spike slowly back away from the unicorn as the pressure rapidly built in the kettle. We knew better than to be in the way when steam blew.

_ **"QUIET!"** _

All of them fell silent, except for Pinkie. "And then I said, 'Oatmeal, are you cra-'" She noticed the dead silence around her. "Oh."

"Girls, there's no use in arguing."

"But Twilight-"

I cut Rarity off before she could. "Oi! This is Twilight's decision, and all you're doing is making it harder for her. Now both her and I are really hangry, so leave! Shoo!" They grumbled, but complied. I turned back to Spike and Twilight, who were both looking gratefully at me.

"Now, you said something about a lunch place?"

\---

"Ugh!" Twilight slammed her head on the covered table. "What am I gonna do? All five of my best friends have really good reasons to go to the gala!"

I raised an eyebrow. "So Spike and I don't count?" The unicorn glared, not amused. "Well, if you really are set on actually going to that absolutely dreadful event, I'd have to say Applejack. She asked first, after all."

Our server trotted over with his notepad. He had a silver platter and cover as a cutie mark, which I suppose made sense given his occupation. "Have you made you decision?" he asked in a unbelievably thick French accent. So either there was someponies who spoke foreign, or at least French, or they just liked the sound of the accent. As useful as the latter would be for worldwide communication, I hoped for the former. Wouldn't want all those foreign language lessons to go to waste.

"I CAN'T DECIDE!" Every pony seated outside the restaurant with us turned their heads.

"Twilight, he means your order!" I hissed.

"Oh." Now she looked embarrassed. "I would love a daffodil and daisy sandwich."

"Do you have any rubies?" Spike asked the waiter. He just gave a look. "No? Okay. I'll have the hay fries, extra crispy."

He looked over to me. "And I'll have the potato fries, with a pinch of salt." He walked back inside to place our order.

"What do you think, Spike?"

"I think we have to try another restaurant. I mean, I like grass just fine, but would it hurt anypony to offer some gemstones?"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, have your snack." Pulling out a ruby from my pocket, I threw it into his mouth. I would have to thank Rarity for that later, when she came to pick us up.

"And I meant about the gala and the ticket and who I should take."

"Oh." He finished eating. "You're still on that?"

"Spike, listen! How do I choose? And when I do choose, will the other four be mad at me?"

"Well, I do have a plan for that. You see, after lunch, Spike and I are-" A plate of fries was set in front of me. "Oh, yes! Excuse me, I'll finish explaining after I eat these delicious french fries."

"Seer, those fries have nothing to do with French!" Twilight said as she levitated her own flower sandwich.

I stared at her. "Do you have to ruin everything?"

A small stampede of ponies ran inside the building. When we looked over, we saw our server staring right back at us. "Em, sir? Are you going to eat your food in ze rain?"

"It's not raining..." Immediately, it started raining around us. And when I say around us, I don't mean that we got wet. I mean that everything was getting drenched except for our little table. "What's going on?"

Both of us looked up to see a small hole in the rain clouds, positioned right above us. Rainbow Dash popped her head in and waved. "Hi there, best friend forever I've ever had. Enjoying the sunny weather?"

"Twilight. Sandwich. Eat. Now."

"But I need to-"

"Twilight!" She began eating her sandwich while I engaged with Dash. "Rainbow, I know you're only doing this to try and get that extra ticket."

"What? No no, of course not!"

I gave her my best 'I know you're lying and am disappointed' expression. "Ok, maybe."

Looking over to see that Twilight had finished her meal, I ate my last fries. "Rainbow Dash, close up that cloud right now. Rarity needs to get her flank over here, and I'd rather not dilly-dally."

"Ugh, fine." She reached over and zipped the rain cloud shut. In less then a second, I was covered in a torrent of water. It was cold, wet and miserable. I could see Twilight was feeling the same way, though with her mane and tail it must have been worse for her.

"Twilight, it's raining." And there was Rarity, wearing a fashionable gem-studded umbrella holder, complete with said umbrella.

"No, really?"

"Come with me before you catch a cold!" The fashionista grabbed Twilight and took her away, leaving me and Spike to play catch up. Safe to say, the rain made it not fun. Not fun at all.

\---

As the mountains of H2O poured outside, Twilight shook herself like a dog to dry off. Surprisingly, it worked like a charm. Her style was right back to what is was before the rainstorm. The bad news was that Rarity had been in the line of fire. "Oops. Sorry."

"Oh no, it's quite alright. After all, we are the best of friends, are we not?" She took Twilight's hooves in her own. "And you know what the best of friends do?"

"Makeovers!" Her changing screen roller over, obscuring both of the unicorns. Due to Twilight's cries, though, I got a pretty good idea of what was going on.

"Ugh, Rarity! Ow! This really isn't fixing it! I mean thank you, but, that's too tight!" Then the cover rolled back, and the unicorn was revealed with a dashing ensemble complete with a rainbow necklace, though I had to believe that the saddle was uncomfortable.

"There. Oh, you're simply _darling."_ Ironic how she used that word both to refer to ponies and as a compliment.

"Uh, yeah, it is kinda pretty, isn't it?"

Spike pointed at his mouth in an obvious sign of disgust. One which did not go unnoticed. "And you. Oh, Spike, I have a dandy little outfit for the dashing gent." The dragon attempted to escape, but to no avail. The changing screen rolled back, and the process began again.

"Ow! Hey, watch it! Whoa!" I struggled to keep a straight face when I saw Spike wearing a blue nobleman unicorn with a blond wig.

"Now you just need a hat!" Rarity placed a large black hat with a yellow feather on his hairdo. He gave a pout with his arms crossed.

"And as for you." I gulped, hoping that it wouldn't be too long. "I finished the order you placed. I must say, it was very odd to make, what with your posture, but I do want to see you try it on." She hovered over the uniform, which I grabbed as I walked behind the screen.

Behind the safety of a wall, I stripped down to my boxers. Slipping on the black pants, they fit snugly around my waist. The white buttoned shirt, the black overcoat, and the black bow tie all gave a very dapper look. Stepping out, the ponies all gave looks of wonder.

"You look absolutely charming, dear."

"Wow, it's beautiful!"

I gave a bow. "Thank you, Rarity. It'll be a eye catching outfit for any formal events. Like, say, one Grand Galloping Gala?"

"Speaking of that..." Spike got all of our attention. "I told you, I don't want any part of this girly gala gunk. See you back at the library." He sped off so fast his noble clothes fell straight off.

I walked to the door, where I saw that the rain had already let up. Equestrian weather service is excellent in that matter. "Well, I guess I'll watch over him. Have fun deciding who gets the ticket, Twilight!"

The entrance slammed shut before a retort could be made.

\---

The Golden Oaks Library was empty when we came in, so Fluttershy must not have got her animals together yet. Which was good, because I needed some time alone with Spike. Oh, the looks I would get when they found out.

"Spike, can you take a letter to Princess Celestia?"

"Uh, sure, I guess." He pulled out a pen and quill. The dragon was well prepared for this, because Twilight did it a lot.

"Dear Princess Celestia, I think you may have to check your eyesight. If you haven't noticed, Twilight Sparkle has five best friends, not one. I would appreciate it if you sent back six more tickets to the gala, as to avoid any more embarrassing incidents or fights. Your loyal servant, The Seer."

He rolled it up into a scroll and blew his dragonfire at it. It burst into a sparkly cloud of smoke, then drifted out the window. "Wow, you really are smart. Twilight doesn't really think straight when it comes to the princess."

I raised an eyebrow. "You think?"

The door quietly opened, and Fluttershy with her animals friends walked in. At least she had been smart enough not to bring the bear or any large animals. It was just a few small creatures and Angel Bunny.

"Oh, I didn't expect you two to be here. Do you mind if we do a bit of cleaning around here?"

"Nah, go ahead. We're just hanging out, me and Spike." Angel began pointing and seemingly giving orders to the birds, who flew off to get the supplies. The bunny then gathered some vegetables and mixed them up in a bowl. A smart cookie, that one was.

Not smart enough, however, to notice when I snatched a letter from the air. I didn't need to read it, nor did I need to look at its contents. The momentary shine I saw from within was enough to confirm. Stuffing the letter into my tuxedo pocket, I tried to look calm and collected. And succeeded.

Or rather, I was succeeding until Twilight came in. She took one look at the scene and lowered her head in defeat. "Fluttershy, not you too!"

"Oh, well, hello, Twilight. I hope you don't mind, but we're all doing a little spring cleaning for you."

"Um, isn't it summer?" I mean, the Summer Sun Celebration was just a few days ago, so it was a reasonable guess.

"Well, better late then never, right? It was Angel's idea." The bunny gave a small bow, then continued mixing the salad he was making.

"You're not doing this for the ticket, are you?"

"Oh no, I'm doing this because you're my very best friend. Right, Angel?" He gave a look. "Oh, yes, we are just doing this for the ticket."

Finished making the meal, Angel hopped over and offered the bowl to Twilight. She knocked it away. "No, no, no! This was all very nice of you and Angel, but I'm not accepting any extra favors until I've made my final decision, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave." She opened the door with her magic, and a couple of streamers flew inside.

"SURPRISE!" A pink blur grabbed the unicorn, pulling her outside. Spike got up to follow, but I held him back.

"Trust me, you don't want to get involved in this one."

"But Twilight could be in trouble!"

I knelt down and looked him straight in his eyes. "Don't. Get. Involved." He ceased his struggles and returned to his seat.

The murmurs from outside slowly increased in volume until they were interrupted by the sound of a stampede. As the hooves faded into the distance, I saw the Mane Six walk in, minus Twilight, for obvious reasons, and Fluttershy, who was already inside. "Uh, is Twilight here?" Applejack asked.

"She'll be here in a moment. Please, take a seat while you wait." When they just stood awkwardly instead of taking my advice, I shrugged and relaxed back in my chair.

As the sun lowered and the moon rose, a flash blinded all of us. When our eyes recovered, Twilight was standing in front of us, looking a bit rattled. When her friends all waved at her, she went berserk.

"Yaaaargh! I can't decide, I just can't decide! It's important to all of you and I just can't stand to disappoint any of you, and giving me gifts and doing me favors won't make any difference, because you'll all my friends and I wanna make you all happy and I can't, I just can't!" She fell to the ground and covered her head with her hooves.

Applejack approached first, looking rightfully shameful. "Twilight, sugar, I didn't mean to put so much pressure on you, and if it helps, I don't want the ticket anymore. You can give it to somepony else. I won't feel bad, I promise."

"Me too," Fluttershy agreed, hovering over. "I feel just awful that I mean you feel so awful."

"And me too. It's no fun upsetting your friends."

"Twilight, it was unfair of me to try to force you as I did." Both Pinkie and Rarity, though offering their condolences, did not approach. They instead opted to keep their distance.

"Yes! That means the ticket is mine!" Rainbow Dash began making dance moves in the air. "I got the ticket, I got the tick-" We all gave hard stares. "...You know, I haven't perfected my signature moves for the Wonderbolts anyway. I don't need that ticket either."

I slowly got up. "So I take that all of you have learned your lesson?"

"Yes," they all said in unison.

"Good. That means I can finally show my surprise." Out of my pocket I pulled out six golden tickets. Everypony's eyes except for Spike's widened.

"Are those more tickets for the Grand Galloping Gala? But how did you get them?"

"Simple. I just asked Princess Celestia for some more. She apologized for using her generic invitation, and gave me enough for everypony. So now we can all go!"

There was a cheer from all the ponies, which probably made my self-esteem go up a few notches. Perhaps a few notches too high, but at least I knew that if I got a bit big for my britches, Twilight would tell me. I opened the door into the cool night. "Now, shall we go out for dinner?"

"Yeah! Come on, everyone! Cupcakes are on me!" The tickets themselves magically floated along their owners as they passed by. Spike came past, looking a bit dejected.

"How come I don't get a ticket to the gala?"

"Who says you don't? I grabbed two tickets left on the ground, ones long forgotten by Twilight. Grabbing it, he starting giggling uncontrollably until I gave him an odd stare. He coughed.

"Ew, I have to go too?"

"Well I need some dragon to keep me company."

"But I thought you said you weren't coming!"

I gave a sly grin. "They're going to need some adult supervision, and I guess I'm the human for the job. Now come on, Spike. Let's go eat dinner. I got another ruby with your name on it."

We both laughed as the door shut behind us.


	7. Time With Twilight Sparkle (Featuring Spike)

"Are you sure you want me to teach you? I have a very biased opinion, and our history is definitely not as bright and cheery as yours."

"Absolutely. The more we know about your culture, the better." Twilight's paper and quill hovered beside her, ready to copy every single word that came out of my mouth.

I rubbed the back of my head. "Alright, where to begin? Some time long ago in our world, which we call Earth, one species of animal became smarter then the rest. They used tools and techniques to make the most out of what they had, and became the dominant rulers of Earth."

"Just like us ponies." There was the sound of rapid scribbling. "But there was only one species of human, right? With all of you being the same, there was no conflict like when the pegasus, unicorns and earth ponies fought."

"You would think so, but no. Humans were innovative, resourceful, but also greedy. As soon as some got more food then others, there was theft, murder and outright war. Great kingdoms rose, ones like Equestria, but they fell just as quickly from war or internal strife. It seemed that for every human born, another would die."

The unicorn stared at me slack-jawed. Obviously such disharmony had never been spoken, much less witnessed by anypony. "How? How could any creature have such brutality in their heart?"

"That's just humanity. Soon educated governments rose, like republics and monarchies. They too fought for space and resources. They still continue to this day, wars based on religion, beliefs and culture. We have weapons that can kill each other by the millions. Bombs that leave land uninhabitable for generations. It a wonder that we haven't died out yet."

"No wonder that you seem amazed at Equestria. This place must seem like wonderland to you."

I nodded my head. "It does. This place is a fairy tale. The fact that in my world it was a- I mean, that I gained the ability to see the future here made it even more surreal."

"Yes, about that..." Twilight shifted in her seat, the writing noise ceasing for a moment. "How does your foresight work? You knew about Nightmare Moon, but seem surprised almost just as much as not. What exactly do you know?"

I took a deep breath, trying to find words to explain, but not reveal. "I see short segments of time. Little tidbits of adventures. Each in total lasting about half an hour. Each piece shows me the most important parts of that area of time."

"Like puzzle pieces. It's up to you to solve the rest."

"Exactly." I gave a sly glance at her. "It also tells me a bit about a pony's personality. For example, how you go insane whenever Princess Celestia is involved in anything."

She looked agast. "I do not go-"

"Hey, it's fine. I understand. She's been a sole monarch for a thousand years, so Celestia's basically the pony all look up to. You just take it a bit too far."

She grumbled. "Ok, fine. Maybe just a bit."

I was about to continue when there was a knock on the door. "I'll get it," I said getting up and walking over.

The mailmare, a grey pegasus with bubbles as her cutie mark was standing outside. She gave me a clipboard to sign, which I did on the dotted line once I saw that it was from Canterlot. "Hey Twilight, can you levitate this package inside?"

It barely fit through the door. Once I closed the entrance and Twilight pried open the wooden crate, I rummaged through the smaller boxes inside.

"Aha!" I held up the item in question, or rather, one of the items in question. "They've finally arrived!"

"What has?"

"My Bacon Kings!" I took a bite out of the lunch. "Even better then I remember. Hope it wasn't too much trouble for Celestia to import the stuff. I heard it had to come all the way from Griffonstone."

"Wait, Griffonstone? But the only food they have there that we don't is-" Twilight's light bulb went off, to her horror. "You're eating _meat?"_

I gave a small smile. "Oh, right. Ponies are herbivores. Yes, I eat meat. It's a very important part of my diet, in fact. I would die if I didn't."

"But..." Her brain tried to process the data. "That came from another animal!"

"And? It would do nothing to just leave it lying there when the pig dies. At least this way there's less waste and more tasty." I took another bite, the juice dribbling down my chin a bit. "Jeez, griffons do it too. Why is this such a shocker to you? You're being ethnocentric, Twilight."

"Ethno-what now?"

"Ethnocentric." Hah, finally a word that confused the smarty pants. I chalked this up as a win for the average human intelligence level. "It means to view cultures through the lens of your own, making them seem less valid and more barbaric. It's like if you use the term 'everypony' when not everyone there is a pony."

The sounds of writing increased in volume until they stopped completely. Twilight got up from her chair. "Well, thank you for your time, Seer, but I think I need time to think about all this. It's a lot to process."

"I'm sure it is. Go on, then. If you have any more questions, don't be afraid to ask." I watched as the unicorn trod up the stairs, disappearing into her room. Once I was sure the coast was clear, I let out a sigh of relief.

"Whew. That was a bullet dodged."

\---

Man, this entry is still too short?! What else is there to talk about? I guess there was that time with Spike... Tell you what, I'll add that in. Call it bonus time for in between episodes. Yes, I know, you can thank me later.

So, after about an hour of bribing, cajoling, more bribing, secret-telling, and maybe just a bit of bribing, Spike had told me some of his greatest insecurities. That he didn't feel like he fit in, that he wanted to be like other dragons but still be friends with the ponies, that he didn't do much and someday Twilight might kick him out. I had to spend a few minutes after that to calm him down.

"Spike, you're not useless. In fact, you're almost as important as Twilight herself."

Spike looked up from his small puddle of tears. "How do you know that?"

"Can you keep a secret?" He nodded. "One day, a new kingdom will arise in the far north. And along with it, an ancient evil. Twilight found an artifact to defeat this evil, but she was trapped in a cage. It was her baby dragon who grabbed the artifact and got it where it was needed, saving a whole empire. They even made a giant crystal statue in your honor."

"Really?"

"Really. Soon you'll even gain wings, and have a chance to become Dragon Lord. But you'll turn it down, because you love your friends more then being a true dragon... which makes you the best dragon of all."

"Wow, that sounds amazing! That's all going to happen?!"

"Yep. Just don't tell anypony about this." I leaned in close. "And don't let this cloud your judgement, Spike. Hubris could be the barrier that stops all of that."

He nodded. "Alright. These lips are sealed!"

"I know they are." I helped Spike to his feet. "Now, can you tell me when Applebuck Season is? It's really important."

"Well..." He pulled out a calendar. "It says here that the harvest begins in a few days. Why?"

I rubbed the top of his scaly head. "Because it means that I'll be spending a bit more time with Applejack. It's just for me to get to know her, nothing more. Don't worry, you'll still be seeing a lot of me."

He shrugged. "Alright, go ahead. I'll make sure to tell Twilight if she asks."

"Thanks, Spike."

\---

I ate another burger.


	8. Audience with Applejack

"Thanks again for helpin' me with Applebuck Season, Seer. It would've been pretty hard doin' it by myself."

"No problem, Applejack. Besides, I got this awesome picture of Rainbow, remember?" Pulling out the photo of the mare in question making duck lips on the podium, we both shared a laugh.

"Oh yeah, and the one with Twi too!"

"You mean the one where she's all like-" I glared defiantly at Applejack "-'I am going to love and tolerate the hay out of you'?" She nodded. "Yeah, that was pretty good."

"And speakin' of the harvest, you said that you were tryin' to stop somethin' bad from happening. What were you talkin' about?"

"Well..." I flipped fingers as I listed things off. "You would have completely botched Dash's new air trick, made everypony sick using the wrong ingredients for Pinkie's muffins, and cause a bunny stampede after messing up Fluttershy's baby bunny census. At least, you _would have,_ if I hadn't made you get some _actual help and sleep."_

The farm pony looked sheepishly at me. "Yeah... I hate it when my mouth is makin' promises that I can't keep."

"Honesty, and all that?"

"Yup. I learned early on that bein' honest was always better then lying."

I gave a sigh. "If only people in my world thought the same." I continued when she offered me a quizzical look. "Where I come from, most humans would lie, cheat and steal just for a bit of personal gain. Even I did it, though now I look on it with shame. I suppose that even now I still do it a little."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't straight-out lie, but I've had to do a lot of misdirection since arriving here. Even my name proves that. You really think my name is 'Seer'? It's just that whenever someone asks for my real name, I just say that it's what they should call me. Not a lie, but not what they asked."

Applejack rubbed the back of her head. "I don't know. It seems a bit wrong to me."

"And that's the moral compass of a pony. Something I wish I had very much." I stared off into the distance for a few seconds.

"Uh, Seer? You here?"

I shook my head. "Yeah, I'm here. I need to get back to Sugarcube Corner to pick up a cake. Walk with me?"

"Sure, I guess." We started walked away from Sweet Apple Acres. "So, uh, what's going to happen next? I mean, for what you can 'see'."

"You know how you just learned a lesson about friendship?" Applejack nodded. "Same thing, but with Rainbow Dash. A bit for Pinkie, too, but mostly Dash. After that, well..." I gave her a gimlet eye. "I'll have to to a bit of chewing out on a few ponies. Namely you, Rainbow and Rarity."

"What? Why? What are we gonna do?"

I smirked. "Well, I can't tell you that. Otherwise you wouldn't learn a lesson about friendship, too. Can't have Twilight hog all the learning experiences, can we?"

"I suppose." There was about a minute of silence. "I don't mean to be rude, but why are you spendin' so much time with us? Don't you have anything better to do?"

"First, no. Second, it's just to waste time until the CMC forms, because then I'll be wasting time with them."

"The CMC?"

"Cutie Mark Crusaders. Featuring Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and yours truly, Apple Bloom."

Applejack thought for a moment. "Makes sense. She's been tryin' to get her cutie mark since day one. I keep tellin' her that it comes from finding what you want to do, but she doesn't seem to listen."

I shrugged. "Finding hers will take a while, but don't worry. I'll keep a close eye on her."

"I'd appreciate that."

There was a few more minutes of silence. When we had almost reached Sugarcube Corner, Applejack broke it one more time. "So... what's the cake for?"

"What, can I not just have a cake because they're good?"

"You can, but isn't that a mite unhealthy?"

I gave her a low stare. "Says the pony who eats nothing but apple products all year."

"...Fair enough."

I opened the door to the pastry stop. "Thank you for your time, Applejack. I hope to see you more soon."

"Same to you, Seer. Thanks for keepin' an eye on us." She turned and began the journey back to Sweet Apple Acres.

And with that, I promptly used my royal budget to buy myself a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake, then ate the whole thing in under an hour.


	9. Trixie's Aftermath

"I'm disappointed in all four of you," I said, my tone barely controlled. "You're all hypocrites."

"Excuse me?! What did we do?!" Rainbow Dash was obviously not taking any of it.

"Yeah, and why am I here?"

"You're here, _Spike, _because your behavior to Trixie was unacceptable!"

"Hey, she got what she deserved. That's what you get for showin' off like a school filly with fancy new ribbons."

"Oh really, Applejack? Then why don't we treat Rainbow that way?"

"I am nothing like that showpony!"

I stared the pegasus down so hard she backed against the library wall. "You, Dash, were acting exactly like she was until we stopped you! The only reason I can even tolerate your showboating is because you actually have some skill to back it up!"

"Exactly!" I turned back to Spike, who had his arms folded. "Trixie was all bark and no bite. There's nothing wrong with bragging if you can actually do what you say."

"Spike, if you don't shred that bias down the drain right now, I will grab the biggest book I can find and shove it into your _skull."_ Twilight, with her super intelligent moments chose to intervene at the worst possible time.

"Seer, please. Spike does have a point here-"

"Twilight," I growled, "how many unicorns have you seen that can match Trixie's magical abilities?"

Her mouth opened, then closed again. "Nopony," she finally admited.

"EXACTLY! In all my future seeing, the only unicorns more powerful then Trixie are either locked in a mirror world, trapped in Limbo or enslaving a pony village! The only reason she seems so weak is because she's being compared to the _ELEMENT OF MAGIC!"_

"Ok, fine!" I turned to Rarity. "Perhaps you have a point. We may have treated her a bit harshly. But why are you so bent on chasing us?"

Finally, we were getting somewhere. "It's because I'm also a bragger, just like Trixie." I let my tone finally soften, just a bit.

There was a moment of silence. "Seer, you're nothing like Trixie," Fluttershy said softly after a bit.

"Really?" I gave a small grin. "I guess that means I've been good at hiding it ever since I've come here. Fluttershy, I appreciate the sentiment, but the truth is that I'm an egotistical, self-centered blowhard. I find myself tooting my own horn without realizing it, and thinking that I'm superior to others gives me a bit of steel."

"But... I don't get it." Pinkie Pie had stopped doing something odd for once. "Why would you need to do that all the time?"

I shrugged. "Probably because I'm insecure and any cracks of weakness would be pounced upon and tear me apart. It's also why I constantly drag others down. Insults, physical blows, that sort of thing."

"Uh, Seer? I think that if you were that kind of person, we would know."

Shaking my head sadly at Spike, I continued. "I've stopped because you ponies have been such a good influence on me, and because I know if I vented on Twilight Celestia would come down and vaporize me or something." I made my way over to the couch and sat down, arms shaking. "Whenever I was having a bad day, I would always vent it out on my little brother. His tears would bring me joy... and then later I would hate myself for being such a horrible person, and yet I still did it again, and again, and again..." Curling up into a ball, the tears starting rolling down. I could feel the ponies walk up to me, ready to make fun of me, to say how terrible I am and laugh...

A hoof stroked my back, helping relieve some tension. "There, there," I heard Fluttershy say. "Let it all out."

"Look, we're sorry that we treated Trixie like that back there. I guess we just got jealous of her doin' things we couldn't, or somethin'."

"Yeah, and if it makes you feel any better, you're almost as awesome as me!"

I let out a laugh through my sobs. "Look at this. It was supposed to be me being angry at all of you, but now it's you girls helping me. What a bout of irony."

Spike suddenly perked up. "I know! I'll go find Trixie so we can apologize! She couldn't have gone too far!"

"Spike, no." He skidded to a stop in front of the door. "The reason I didn't stop her from running is because she's going to get something very important for me. After that, then you can all say sorry."

"What's she going to get for you?"

I finally looked up at Twilight. "An amulet of dark magic. She's going to try to use it to upstage you someday. I need her to retrieve it for Princess Celestia. Such a dark artifact can not remain just out in Equestria."

_And out of my hands, _I thought bitterly. Another secret I had to keep from these wonderful ponies, for selfish reasons.

"I need a student," I began to mumble. "Trixie will do, but that's all the way in season two. Maybe I could visit Luna again? A changeling, perhaps? Sunset will be my protege, of course. Or maybe Starlight?"

"Seer?" I snapped out of it to find a concerned Twilight. "You're trailing off again."

"Ah. Sorry."

I stood up again, wiping the tears from my cheeks. "I'm sorry, everypony, but I think I need to take a vacation to Canterlot. I haven't visited the royal sisters in a while, and a bit of mingling with the nobility is long overdue. I promise I'll be back soon. If you need anything, don't hesitate to have Spike send a letter, alright?"

They seemed surprised by my sudden turn of emotion, but quickly nodded and agreed. "Make sure to wear that tuxedo I made for you, hm?"

"Of course, Rarity." Digging into a pocket, I pulled out a small medallion. When I tapped it twice, an orange portal appeared in front of me, leading to my room in Canterlot. "It's a magical artifact," I told a slack-jawed Twilight. "I still don't have any natural magic, or anything. It was repurposed from the EEA."

I walked through, with Golden Oaks Library disappearing behind me.

\---

Celestia was almost going into hysterics. "Seer, what did you do? Luna is refusing to do anything anymore! All she does is use that... that _thing _you gave her! She needs to stop!"

"Oh, great." From one problem straight to another. "Just as I said, Luna's become a screenager. Fine, I'll go put the hammer down on her."

Leaving the diarch to her own devices may not have been the smartest move given her seeming to slowly lose her mind, but I definitely did not want to be the one to deal with her. Luna was by far the easier problem, if Celestia was to become one. Having visited it once before, this time is was much easier to find the princess' room.

I came in to find almost the exact scene of when I had left; Luna laying on her bed using my Gameboy. The only difference was her coat had become a bit darker, and she was about as tall as I was now. I chose the good cop approach first.

"Luna? Are you doing nothing but gaming?"

She gave a big sigh. "Look, I told sister that I would come out as soon as I finish this confounding dungeon!"

I took a peek; the lunar princess was currently on one of my many Zelda games. "Ah, yes, that one is fairly difficult. Have you tried using the hookshot?"

"The hooksh- oh, of course!"

"But Luna, being serious. You need to spend less time on this thing. You're going to have to resume your role as the Princess of the Night, and ponies can't have you distracted on the job." I threw in some bait, just to be sure. "I mean, if you can't handle this little thing, I guess I can't trust you with my other, better toys."

Her eyes widened. "You have things better then this?"

"Of course. I'm not a one-trick pony, you know. It might be a Hearth's Warming present one year, but you need to show responsibility now." I reached my hand out. She gave a low whimper, but handed it over. I set it on a nearby desk.

"Now, I don't care if you use it, but I don't want to hear from Celestia about this again. Understood?"

"Okay..." I almost had to cover my mouth from laughing. A diarch of Equestria, Alicorn of the Moon, Princess Luna herself was being subservient to me, a human with no magical abilities whatsoever. I was sure she'd grow a spine one day, but right now it was just hilarious. I quickly excused myself, then let out a storm of giggles once the door closed. The only consequences were a few odd looks from the guards, but that was totally worth it.

A hop, skip and a jump later, I was back with Celestia. "I believe you'll find Luna to be a bit more compliant from now on," I told her.

"Thank you. And while you're here..." I folded my arms while she continued. "Did you happen to take the fragments of Nightmare Moon on the Summer Sun Celebration? My guards found nothing after a search around the castle grounds."

"Ah." I rubbed my hands. "You see, I didn't want to tell you this, but... they were stolen. After you all left for Ponyville, something came and overpowered me, then took the shards."

Definitely not the truth, but not entirely a lie either. I considered myself a duel personality person, much like Pinkie Pie and PDP. The fact that I hated myself for certain actions? Those were the result of my alter ego. It was him who took Nightmare Moon's remnants, not the me I liked. A complicated situation, but I wasn't about to explain that to the princess.

A princess who was currently not a happy camper. "You should have told us about this!" Celestia scolded. "Those pieces contain powerful dark magic, not to mention influence over the moon! In the wrong hooves-"

"To be fair, I don't think it's any more dangerous then any of your other canned evils."

"Excuse me?"

I waved my hand in a circle. "You know what I'm talking about. Discord, Sombra, the plundervines in the Everfree, Tirek, et cetera."

She raised an eyebrow. "Plundervines?"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it in between season three and four. In your terms, after Twilight's ascension, and just around the return of Sunset."

There was a sigh. "You know, this whole 'kept in the dark' thing is very annoying."

"Welcome to Twilight's world."

"...Touché."


	10. The Grand Galloping Gala

The next few months were, to say the least, an absolute blur. I do remember a few key things, though. Certain strange events that stuck to my mind like old glue.

First, the aristocrat party. Jesus Christ, was that an absolute nightmare. I tried my best to mingle with those snobby ponies, but instead I found myself on display before them. Even though Celestia was trying to keep an eye on things, she was just too distracted by dignitaries to be of any help. I was the subject of many a rude joke about my species, my lineage and my 'secret abilities'.

Fortunately, I had the assistance of one well-respected pony in the house: Fancy Pants. After making it clear that he considered me an ally and a friend, many nobles wisely chose to reconsider their stance on the matter. I quickly found myself making his statement true, hitting it off quickly. When I said that he was just about the only 'noble' thing in the whole place, Fancy Pants gave quite a laugh.

Soon after, though, I was summoned back to Ponyville to find a cure for a mysterious ailment affecting the Mane Six. Spike had already given them hilarious nicknames for each pony's condition, meaning that they had suffered from them for a while. Fluttershy's deep male voice was just too good to not record, and Applejack's new, much smaller size was very cute. She still had her bucking power, though, as I can tell you from experience. Pretty sure my finger's still broken.

After force-reading the book 'Supernaturals' to Twilight and explaining about the poison joke, we quickly ventured to Zecora in the woods for the cure. It's always a bit confusing to hear them talk about how the Everfree is spooky because things happen on their own. I mean, my world works the exact same way, so does that make Earth terrifying for ponies? Anyway, soon they were all back to their normal selves, and apologized to the zebra for misjudging her. The same friendship lesson learned, just with less drama.

After that, there was a parasprite attack right before Celestia's sort-of-surprise visit to Ponyville. With my help this time, Pinkie Pie was able to gather her instruments much faster, luring the fiends long before the princess was even in sight. My jaw was a little sore after that from all the yelling at both Twilight for going insane over her teacher's visit, and said teacher for making her this way. Still, I don't think I have any chance of solving the problem until Lesson Zero. Still not looking forward to that.

Things took a mysterious (and perhaps a bit obvious) turn when The Running of the Leaves happened. Looking back, I should have realized that fall came before winter, but the show had gotten almost everything so perfect that it was a rude awakening for my 'future seeing'. Choosing to participate, I embarrassingly took third to last, just in front of Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Ponies are fast gallopers, and I am no way in shape. Princess Celestia's presence made it all the more insufferable, though she gracefully refrained from mentioning my poor performance.

Once fate had me properly ashamed of myself, winter rolled right around the corner. I, being the awesome person I am, got the entire Winter Wrap Up song on tape. Ever since then, Twilight had found me many a times listening to the tune while working on various pieces of tedious paperwork.

My life (and my boredom) starting looking up again once the CMC finally formed. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo all see me as the best adult supervision, once I had demonstrating that I understood their plight. Not only did I not have a cutie mark, nor would ever get one, but I also knew what children were like, having been one myself. I'm basically their cool, mystical uncle, or something. Seeing them always brightens my day a bit.

Of course, getting The Art of the Dress, and its reprise was easy enough; with a bit of flattery, Rarity let me inside to overview the dress-making. Convincing all the others to wear Rarity's dresses instead of their own took a bit more, but my words eventually won them over.

An honorable mention goes to flaming Twilight, who only presented herself once Pinkie Pie had frustrated her to the point to giving up. 'Twilight' and 'giving up' aren't two things that go together, but Pinkie managed. She always does.

Appleloosa was our next stop, where not much changed. The only notable thing that happened was the town gifting me Bloomberg (much to the chagrin of Applejack) as thanks for my epic negotiation skills. It now lay in a private plot in Canterlot, where I could grab an apple whenever I pleased.

The last thing that happened before now was something I never want to speak of again. I will only way one thing; Pinkie Pie is a great pony, but _never_ meet Pinkamena Diane Pie.

Which is why I think my reaction was justified when Pinkie came out of her hair washer with her mane straight and hanging. "Uh, Seer?" Applejack said, "What's got you rattled?"

I got a hold of myself. "Ah. Excuse me, everypony. I just... Pinkie sort of looked like... Just ask Rainbow, she's be the only one to understand."

"Oh, no. I am _not _dealing with that again! It was just creepy!"

"Oh, you mean her?" Pinkie spoke as if she obviously knew who 'her' was. "Yeah, that Pinkie doesn't come out a lot. I was just so sad, and just couldn't find the fun in anything, so-"

"Thank you, Pinkie. Very cool." I applied one last layer of mane gel and straightened out my tux. "So, do I look ready?"

They all stopped to check out the new me. "Why, you look gorgeous, darling. Why, if you were a pony, I would already be head-over-hooves for you."

"As I would be for you if you were a human, Rarity. Now, if you would all get your dresses on, we could be off. I wouldn't want to keep our stallions waiting, would I?"

\---

"Last stop, Canterlot!" I hopped off the apple carriage and opened the door for the residents. When Spike tried to exit first, I put a hand out to stop him. "Oh no, Spike. Ladies first."

"At least somepony knows how to be a proper gentlecolt."

"Gentleman," I corrected Rarity, "but close enough."

The six ponies exited the giant fruit, with the baby dragon taking the rear. I chose to stay back with him, not wanting to interfere in the song. Bringing out my recorder once more, I caught the entire tune, making sure the chorus got their part. After all, I wouldn't want to not give credit where it's due.

After it concluded, we regrouped with the cast of ponies. Spike, just as I remembered used some poor words right at this moment. "Yeah! This is going to be the best night ever! You know why? 'Cause we're all going to spend time to-" They all sped off, going to realize their dream. "-gether. Or not."

"Aw, don't worry, Spike. I'm sorry that I can't hang out either, but there's still once more thing I have to get on tape. How about we meet here at say... midnight, and then you can take me to see the sights. Alright?"

He sighed. "Alright. See you around, Seer."

I followed Pinkie Pie into the grand ballroom. None of the other ponies' accidents were of any concern to me, and she was the only one who was going to sing the song. I admit, it was very difficult to listen to the party pony embarrass herself in front of the crowd of nobles, but I managed.

Or at least, I did, until I couldn't take it anymore. Running up to a slightly dejected pink pony, I whispered something into her ear. "Hey Pinkie, perhaps a change in song would help. A 'Pony Pokey', perhaps?"

She gasped. "That's a great idea! I'll tell the music players right now!" After whispering similar things to the band upstage, she took the microphone in one hoof. "Come on, everypony! I know what will make you shake those groove-thangs!"

\---

"...And this is Princess Celestia's private library! Twilight used to come here all the time to study magic. There's even a rumored 'forbidden section', but we were never allowed in."

"And I'm sure that annoyed her a bit." To a confused look, "I mean, think about it. If Celestia told Twilight that she'd need dark magic for a test, that mare would learn the most forbidden spells known to pony."

He rubbed his head. "Yeah, that sounds like Twilight." Hanging his head, he let out a sad sigh. "I wish I was there with them right now."

I lifted him until he was looking at me. "No you don't," I said firmly. "They are having a terrible time right now, and you wouldn't be able to do anything to help."

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

Rubbing my chin, I thought of an idea. "Tell you what. How about we go to Pony Joe's donut place, and I'll buy you a few. It'll be sure to take you mind off things."

"...Yeah. Okay, that sounds good."

A hop, skip and a jump later, we were sitting on a marble counter at a small diner. I placed ten bits on the counter. "Two large hot chocolates and four donuts, please." Pony Joe left to get us our treats, leaving me and Spike alone.

"Huh. I wonder when Twilight will show. She said that there would be time later to show them around Canterlot."

I checked my pocket watch. "Odd. She's ten seconds late. So I'd say three, two, one..."

The glass door behind us rang, and six roughed-up ponies walked in. "Ah, Twilight Sparkle. How was your 'best night ever'?"

She wasted no time, coming so close her horn almost jabbed into my skull. "You knew, didn't you? You saw us all having a horrible time at the gala, and you did nothing to stop it!"

"Well, duh. I tried to warn you all so many times, but your daydreams were too much for common sense to overpower. I was just there for the excellent music. Don't feel too bad though, the gala is always terrible. Wouldn't you agree, princess?"

"Yes, it is." The ponies all turned to find Celestia standing regally behind them. I rolled my eyes while they all bowed. "Please, there's no need for that now. I would like to thank you all for making that insufferable event a bit more lively."

"Speaking of insufferable, can we get to the lesson from this disaster already?" The ponies all looked at me with a rather annoyed expression. "I mean, I get it, your friends make everything better, blah blah blah. What I really want you each to learn was your mistake for this event."

There was silence until Twilight got the message. "Fine," she grumbled, "what's our oh-so-terrible mistake that we've made, o great and powerful Seer?"

"I'm glad you asked. And since you spoke first, let's start with you." I paused for a moment while Joe handed me two donuts and a drink. After taking a sip, I continued. "You expected for Celestia to take time off at a royal event just for you. Do you realize how selfish that sounds? Besides, you're her personal protege, so I'm sure if you wanted to talk magic then you could just send a letter." Twilight opened and closed her mouth multiple times, trying to find a flaw but failing. I turned my attention on Applejack.

"You wanted to sell your apple products. A commendable objective, but you really should have looked to see if they were _giving food for free_ _beforehand. _I mean, I'll always take free food over paying for it. Wouldn't you?" I left the sputtering pony for Rainbow.

"Dash, you wanted the Wonderbolts to recognize your skills. They did, but other ponies made them too distracted for your tastes, so you continued to attempt daring tricks. Well, you could have just asked to meet up later somewhere. But hey, at least you know they're checking you out. I'm sure you'll get in eventually."

"Hey! I just wanted them to-"

"And Rarity. Your wish was for Prince Blueblood, Celestia's nephew, to court you. While you were acting like it was his honor to meet you, it was really the other way around. He's the third most politically powerful pony in Equestria, and you were a stranger. Without knowing that you were the Element of Generosity, all Blueblood saw was a ladder-climber, wanting to take an undeserving spot among the highest of nobility. That's why he treated you so poorly."

The unicorn bristled. "Well, he still didn't need to be so rude about it!"

I rubbed my head. "Yeah, he's still a rather terrible pony. Celestia, I do hope that you have a talk." All I got was a curt nod in response. The last two in line were not ones I particularly was going to enjoy, but being fair was being fair.

"Fluttershy, I feel a bit bad for you. After all, you had no way of knowing that the animals were trained to avoid ponies. The nobles rather hate such things coming to close. Perhaps next time you should sent a bird or two ahead to let them know it's you?" I could barely hear the "Okay" come from under the table.

"And Pinkie..." I waited a few seconds, then let go of the breath I was holding. "I got nothing for you. You did nothing wrong, it was just the ponies who were being 'the meanest kind of meany pants there is'."

I let the ponies have a minute to soak it all in. "...You're right. We did kind of have high expectations for the gala. You'll keep something like this from happening again, right?"

I gave Twilight a sly eye. "I'll try my best."

Spike finished his first donut and starting dipping his second into his chocolate. "Hey, at least our crazy adventures are over, right?" That got me to laugh harder then it should have.

"Oh, Spike. If only you knew how wrong that sentence was."


	11. Songs of Equestria Vol. 1

A few days later, I got hit with a hard fever. With an extreme body temperature and sore throat, I was confined to the bed by Twilight for the next week or so. I don't know how I got it, but after going around Equestria for so long being forced to stay in one place didn't sit well with me. Unfortunately, the unicorn was being the stubborn mare she was and ensured that I wasn't going anywhere. I told her that as long as she kept giving me my food shipments from Canterlot I'd be fine.

I was just finishing one of said meals when the door burst open, and my six favorite ponies walked in, looking quite a bit peeved. "Hey, girls," I said. "What's going on?"

"What's going on?! How about you tell us?!" Applejack practically slammed a thin case onto my lap. The colorful cover depicted the Mane Six, with Pinkie Pie and Rarity predominantly featured in front of the others. It was very familiar; I had taken that picture myself.

"Oh." I gave a nervous laugh. "I guess the songs finally got published."

Twilight glared at me. "And where were you going to tell us about this?"

"Uh, well... I gave them to Celestia at the gala, and I guess it just slipped my mind. Sorry about that." I coughed, my throat aching again. The ponies didn't feel like letting up, though.

"My dressmaking song isn't something for you to market, you ruffian! I trusted you, and this is how you repay me?!"

"Rarity, please." Spike unwisely chose at that moment to come in with the daily newspaper. "Hey guys, look at this!"

"Spike, this isn't really the time!"

"Wait, Twilight." I motioned for the dragon to come closer. "Spike, mind handing me that for a second?"

Flipping to the front page, I saw exactly what I was hoping for. "Look at this." They all crowded around me. "Seer Studios releases new smashing hit album: stocks sold out in two days." I let Twilight grab it with her levitation to get a closer look. "See, you ponies are really popular."

"Yeah, but I was already popular!" Dash protested. "That doesn't mean you can just use our voices for something like this!"

An alarm clock on the nearby desk starting ringing. On cue, a cold towel in a purple glow floated over onto my head. Covering my eyes, the friends still glaring at me were obscured from view. "Oh, come on now," I continued to darkness, "it wasn't like those songs were any secret. The gala song was literally sung in Canterlot! I just wanted other ponies to hear what you had to say."

Whispers came from all around me. I was spared from wondering, however, by Pinkie Pie. She obviously didn't know what it meant to stay quiet. "I think it isn't so bad. I mean, with my laughter song out there, now all the ponies can have smiles on their faces!"

"See? Pinkie gets it."

There was more quiet voices. Twilight's familiar tone sounded after an eternity of waiting. "Fine, you can keep them. Just tell us the next time you do this, okay?

I put my hand up in a pledge. "I promise." The same hand dropped down to a cloth bag. "Now, how about a small present? Each of you buy yourself something nice, alright?" Somepony wrenched it from my grasp, and I heard the oohs and aahs from so many bits. "Apparently as the 'producer', I get all the money from sales. Consider it a apology. Now, go on now! I need some more sleep!"

The sound of excited hooves faded away. "You too, Spike." There was a bit more creaking of the floor, then the door shut. I sighed, laying back on my bed.

Those ponies were going to be the death of me.


	12. The Decoy

"These ponies are going to be the death of me!" I sped down the endless corridors, the entire royal guard in hot pursuit. Shining Armor himself was leading the chase, looking as pissed as if I had drained all the magic from his wife. Which i had.

The problem was, I was running out of places to go. More and more hallways were being barricaded, and the princesses were gaining. Soon the game would be up, and I would be brought into custody.

I had to buy as much time as possible.

"Faster!" I heard the captain say. "We can't let the human get away! There's no telling what he'll do with the princess' magic!"

"Guards, continue the pursuit! My sister, Cadence and Twilight will cut him off!" Luna and company split off onto a different route. Though I knew their plan would not end well for me, I was momentarily relieved that the fastest ponies were no longer on my heels. The ones left over quickly fell behind, soon going out of sight. It seems that I had lost them.

The key word there was "had". I could barely catch my breath before the princesses cut me off through the next hallway. I attempted to backtrack, but the platoon of guards was already there. Using my final option, I burst open the heavy double doors...

...landing myself straight into Twilight's throne room. This place was a dead end; the only exit was through the doors I had just entered. They had me cornered.

"Enough! This game ends now!" The lunar diarch came in first, flanked by two night guards, who were looking rather tired at the moment. Being called in in broad daylight would not do good for their sleeping habits. "Surrender our magic to use, or we shall make you!"

I put on an innocent facade. "What do you mean, princess? I don't know what you're talking about."

The guards quickly search me, finding no magical bell on my person. "He has nothing," one reported.

Luna's eyes widened. "What? No, that's impossible! I saw you take it!" The rest of the royalty came in, and just in time too. I started laughing, first a low chuckle, blowing up into full-on maniacal.

"I can't believe you all fell for such a joke! Isn't it obvious?" In a ring of blue fire, my true form was revealed. A rich tone of teal, bug-like wings, and shining eyes. A changeling.

Twilight gave a gasp of recognition. "A?! What are you doing here as the Seer?"

"I'm distracting you. Duh. We were all let in on the plan, and with enough time the real Seer will finish his ritual without your interference."

"Wait, we? You don't mean-"

"Yes." I gave a smirk. "If you keep going, you'll meet _them _soon enough. I'd hurry if I were you, though. Time is running out."

Celestia pointed at the thestrals currently keeping me hostage. "Keep the changeling secure! Twilight, Cadence, Luna! We must hurry!"

"To Star Swirl's tower!"

\--

"Looks like A was discovered. They'll be here soon enough, Seer."

I didn't even look at the shadowy figure behind me. "It will take some time to get these artifacts into position. I trust that your magic will keep them at bay, once they find us?"

There was a snort. "Is that doubt I hear in your voice?"

"I don't care if they princesses don't have their magic. There is no room for error now. _Do not mess this up._"

"Yep, that's doubt," it grumbled.

"Get to work."

The sound of hooves faded away, along with a faint red glow from an orange horn.


	13. A Lesson in Discord and Friendship

Of course, we would be skipping a lot of important things if we went straight to the story of my changeling student. Discord would be rightfully pissed off if I skipped his little reign of terror, so I guess we'll start with that.

I had just recovered from my terrible fever and was now chaperoning a small group of fillies as we toured around the Canterlot hedge maze. Yes, I wasn't stupid. I knew that the draconequus was about to return and wreck chaos upon Equestria, but meh. Everypony knowing that would just make it so much more boring.

After the CMC had their little bout of discord, the class moved on to the next statue. I, on the other hand, stayed behind, noticing the cracks forming in Discord's display. Leaning against a bush, I pulled out a book from the Golden Oaks Library and began reading.

It wasn't long before fragments of stone flew into me, stirring up a bit of dust. I wiped myself off, then turned to face the Lord of Chaos.

"Ugh, finally! You know, this whole experience had taught me why I never turn ponies to stone. It's just so incredibly orderly, I can't stand it!" He began to stretch and snap his fingers, causing various chaotic things to appear, including cotton candy clouds and orange grass.

"Hello, Discord. Did you have a good thousand-year nap?"

He looked at me plainly. "Oh, you must be the human I've been hearing so much about. What, was watching from behind the screen not enough for you?"

I recoiled for a moment. "How did you... nevermind. You're the embodiment of chaos and disharmony, of course you would know."

"I wouldn't be a very good interdimensional being if I didn't, would I? By the way, I wanted to tell you that I'm very flattered. It seems that I am very popular in your world."

"Discord, I'm howling at the moon, sleeping in the middle of a summer afternoon?" I asked, eyebrows raised.

It didn't faze him one bit. "Yes, that one song. Could have used a bit more chaos, but I suppose that not everyone can be as chaotic as I am."

"I didn't come here for small talk, Discord. Can you stir up some disharmony and hide the Elements of Harmony already? I want to get this show on the road."

He tsked and wagged a talon. "My my, aren't we an impatient one. Normally I don't rush my art, but this time I'll make an exception. Now, run along now. Go back to the princess and be the good little boy you are. I'll be waiting." With another snap, he disappeared in a flash.

Shaking my head, I walked back towards the royal palace. "The literal definition of 'friends with benefits'," I mumbled to myself.

\---

As Twilight Sparkle and her friends left on a foolish quest for the hedge maze, Princess Celestia immediately turned to me with a serious expression. "What were you hiding this time?" She asked tiredly.

I tried to look indignant. "Princess, I am offended that you would think so lowly of me!" After a few seconds of a royal stare, I relented. "Alright, fine. I know that the Elements aren't in the royal gardens.

"Then where did Discord hide them?"

"Well, for one, a maze doesn't end where it began. That's the most important part of the riddle. Where it all began was a book, one which first taught Twilight about the Elements in the first place. It's currently inside her house."

Celestia gave a long, heavy sigh. "Very well, go ahead and retrieve them. I will direct Twilight once she makes her way out of Discord's trap." As I ran for my carriage, I heard her speak under her breath, "Perhaps I should let up on Twilight a bit..."

"Not used to being on the other end of the stick, huh?" The doors shut before I could see the look on her face.

One short ride later, I was in the Golden Oaks Library. As I suspected, five necklaces and one crown was neatly placed inside the book. I closed it, sat on it, then began reading a different one. It was rather comical when the pictures began to move on their own. While the draconequus could be quite annoying, he did make this interesting.

Speaking of Discord, I found him on page twenty. The caption below read, "_They're on their way."_

Right at the moment they read that, the door opened and the Mane Six walked through. Or rather, the Mane Three. Twilight, Rarity and Rainbow were missing, and the rest that were here looked bland and colorless. Fluttershy took one look at a sleeping Spike, then immediately grabbed a bucket of cold water and dumped it on him.

He woke up dripping freezing. "What did you do that for, Fluttershy?"

"Because you just looked so peaceful."

"Huh?" He turned to me, confused.

"Discord has inverted their personalities," I explained. "Everypony is the opposite of what they should be. Ironically, he did it by playing off their worst fears, except for Fluttershy. He had to do a manual override for her."

There was a loud crash. We all looked over to see a large boulder come through, followed by a grey Rarity and a normal Twilight. "Got your book, Twilight," I told her breezily. "But first..."

The formerly yellow pegasus took that as a sign of permission. "Hey Twilight, what's soaking wet and clueless?"

"Fluttershy, I've had just about enough-" She was drowned out by another bucket of water.

"Your face!" She slammed the empty metal bucket onto her face. I gave a snort of laughter.

"What's so funny, huh? What are you laughing at?" Pinkie Pie went straight up into my grill.

"Ugh, fine." I rolled my eyes. "You ponies are intolerable. Here, have your Elements." I threw them each to their respective owner, with Dash's going to Spike. "I'm going to enjoy some chaos before it's gone. Have fun getting your team back together."

Once I had left that fiasco, it was easy to locate Discord. He was sitting on his throne, overseeing the new chaos capital of the world. After a snap, I was in a throne of my own made of balloons. "Good job, Discord," I mumbled. "You really did a number on them. They're too much for even me to handle. The Elements have been found, though."

He gave a wicked smile. "Well, we both know that those won't be working anymore, won't they? I suppose that I can entertain them for a bit. Toodles!" He disappeared, leaving me with tall bunnies and card castles. I pulled a long balloon from my chair, poked it at the nearest cotton candy cloud, then began to eat it. It was high-quality food.

Watching the skies, I was neither surprised nor disappointed when no magical rainbows appeared. Discord reappeared after a bit, looking rather proud of himself. "Guess who just made Twilight lose herself?"

"Pinkie Pie?"

"Well, that is a good guess. That pony is wonderfully chaotic! Maybe after I finish redecorating I'll let her become her old self again. I'm sure she'd appreciate some of the amazing things I'll do."

"Yes, on that topic... why are you such a jerk?"

He looked at me, eyebrows raised. "Whatever do you mean? I'm the Lord of Chaos and Disharmony, you know."

"Yes, but chaos isn't naturally a bad thing. It just means change, and it makes life exciting. And even though disharmony sounds like something evil, it's similar to chaos. If everyone's the same, nothing changes. Those aren't necessarily evil traits."

"I mean, the universe isn't evil, and it tends to lean towards chaos. It's much harder to make something orderly then to let it be chaotic. Everything seems to hinge around chaos, which is probably why as the Avatar of Chaos you're so powerful."

I finally faltered when I saw Discord sitting at a school desk, wearing glasses and pretending to take notes. "Thank you, professor. I'll make sure to use these on the next exam." He threw them into the air, where they promptly spouted wings and flew away.

"Fine, I'll stop lecturing you. Now give me a glass." A empty cup appeared in my hand, which I used to get a drink of chocolate milk. Discord got his own, making a toast once it was filled. "To chaos; a wonderful, wonderful thing!" He drank the glass, then threw away the milk, which exploded behind him.

"Not as wonderful as friendship!" We both looked to see Twilight and her group facing Discord down, both with their Elements and looking freshly recolored. It seemed that they had tracked down Rainbow sooner then expected.

The draconequus looked at me with a annoyed expression. "Excuse me, this will take one moment." He walked down to the ponies from our small polka-dotted hill. "You want another shot at me with those little Elements of yours? Fine, but make it quick. I'm missing out on some excellent chaos."

They were taken aback for a second, but quickly got into fighting position. "Alright, girls," Twilight said. "Let's show him what friendship can do!"

"Wait-wait-wait!" Pinkie Pie took a few seconds to drink from a cotton candy cloud pouring chocolate rain. Once she was finished, she jumped forward with a rare serious expression.

I didn't bother watching the Elements fire, nor did I listen to Discord's cries of alarm and pleading. I closed my eyes when the white began to fill them, blocking out any potential blindness that could occur as a side effect.

I only opened them when I heard Discord's statue hit the ground.

\---

After the window unveiling ceremony (Twilight didn't like the name, but who cares?) we all gathered around to catch up with each other. "Sorry I bailed on you guys," I said, "but you were all acting like complete douches. I guess I pulled a Rainbow on all of you, huh?"

"Hey! It's not my fault that Discord discorded me!" Dash protested. "But uh, while we're on that, I'm sorry too for bailing. I guess I'm so special that the Elements don't even work without me, huh?"

"Actually, I think they would have worked fine without you," I put in.

Multiple confused faces surrounded me. "Uh, Seer? My memory's a mite bit hazy from my discordin', but I think I remember our Elements not workin'."

"Yes, but that was the ponies, not the dragon. In fact, I think that Spike would make a good Element of Loyalty."

"What makes you say that?" The dragon of the hour waddled onto the scene. I gave him a small smile.

"Because you've been loyal to Twilight since day one. Sure, you complain a bit and are pretty lazy sometimes, but when Twilight needs you you're almost always there. The fact is that everypony else wasn't acting like their respective traits."

"Let me put it this way; if I had a team of humans that were honest, loyal, generous, kind, laughter...ness and friendship...ness, then they would probably work just as well for us as they do for you. Those gems act as a focusing lens for the inherent magic in friendship, which you'll probably all learn someday."

Twilight tapped her chin with her hoof thoughtfully. "You sure seem to know a lot about this thing. Maybe you should be advising us too about it."

I chuckled. "Well, I'm no princess of friendship. I think you'll find that role filled in due time."

"...What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see, Twilight Sparkle. You'll see."


End file.
